Transition
by bernicevella64
Summary: Geek!Quinn Cheerio!Rachel G!P Quinn As Rachel and Quinn start working together on both an English assignment and a glee duet, their feelings about eachother transition from hate to...something else, but neither of them are sure what their new feelings are.
1. Chapter 1

As she stuffed her books into her locker and got out the things she needed for her next period, Quinn Fabray looked down the hall, suddenly interested in what all the whistling was about. What she saw made the extra appendage between her legs twitch and come to life in her jeans. Walking down the hallway of William McKinley High School was none other than Rachel Berry, the recently appointed captain of the cheerios. Also one of the biggest bitches this school has ever seen, but Quinn just couldn't resist her. She shook her head quickly and returned to thinking about what she needed for her next period, English, which she shared with Rachel and her two hench-bitches, Santana Lopez and Brittney Pierce. Luckily, Quinn also shared it with her best friend, Kurt Hummel.

"Hey nine point five!" Kurt's voice came up from behind Quinn, causing her to roll her eyes and turn to him.

"Will you keep it down?" she said as she hugged him.

"Girl please, you should be proud, you're hung lower than most of the guys in this school!" he said, giving her a wink.

"You're an idiot you know that right?" she said sarcastically.

"Come on, we don't want to be late for English, otherwise you won't get a seat in the back and can't stare at a certain short brunette cheerio that you like so much." Kurt said teasingly.

"Shut up." Quinn said, looking away and biting her lip.

"Girl you've got it bad!" Kurt said shaking his head at her.

"Okay I love you but you seriously need to shut up!" the blonde said, shoving her friend playfully in the shoulder.

"Speak of the devil, act natural." Kurt said, opening his notebook and pretending to look at it. Quinn looked over her shoulder and saw Rachel and her friends walking their way. She turned and looked into her locker before Rachel made eye contact. The bell rang and they made their way to class, sitting in the back as usual to avoid the aggravating paper balls being thrown at them.

The three cheerios sat in the front of the class next to each other, despite that, they still chatted aimlessly.

"So when are you going to grow a lady pair and ask Hudson out?" Santana said to Rachel, who was copying notes from the board. She rolled her eyes at her friend.

"San, I'm working on it, chill, I only just got Head Cheerio, and he only just got the Quarterback position." She argued with her friend.

"That's exactly my point girl, you two are made for each other, and it's like, an unwritten rule!" Santana said, leaning back into her seat. "You're both royalty!"

"Oh yeah? And who are you dating from the football team exactly?" Rachel poked at her friend.

"I already gots my sights locked on Puckerman." Santana shrugged.

"Ugh that manwhore?" Rachel rolled her eyes again. "You do know he thinks we should have sex just because we're both Jewish right?"

"Girl, everyone wants to get a piece of that ass, so I wouldn't blame him for making up a lame ass excuse like that, he was probably too busy looking at the twins over there to even think." Santana said, gesturing to Rachel's breasts. "I mean, even I would find a way to get into your pants if I could"

Rachel raised an eye brow at her friend.

"I'm just saying, you're hot, which means you can get anyone from this school, guy or girl." The Latina said.

"Whatever, I'll ask him out when I'm ready." Rachel shrugged and went back to writing her notes.

"Unless of course he asks you out first." Santana said with a shrug. She looked over to the blonde girl sitting on the other seat next to Rachel. "Yo, Brits!"

"Yeah San?" the blonde responded, leaning back in her chair to look at Santana from behind Rachel.

"Why are you so quiet?" The Latina asked.

"I'm worried, lord tubbington isn't talking to me, I think he's mad at me and I don't know why." The blonde said, a genuinely sad look on her face. The Latina couldn't help but smile at her friend.

"I'm sure he's just in a bad mood." Santana assured her friend, reaching over and giving her shoulder a little rub before turning her attention back to her teacher who was now pretending to understand what every little thing in the poem they had just read meant. Half an hour passed and the teacher was now explaining their newest assignment to them.

"Now class, for this year's major literature project I want you to pair up with someone and make a presentation on popular themes of poems and mutual metaphors for that theme." The teacher explained, getting weird looks from her students. Mutters started going around instantaneously, having people agree on who their partners were going to be.

"Now now, hold your horses," the teacher said, raising her arms to shush the class. "You won't be choosing your partners out of your friends, I took the liberty of splitting the class, half of the class's names are written on the papers in this bowl, the other half will pick out a name and that person will be your partner. Your partner will then pick out a theme from this bowl and that is the theme you will work on."

The students groaned and grumbled about their teacher's decision. And she started going to each student whose name wasn't in the bowl to pick out their partner. She went to the back first, skipping Quinn and going straight to Kurt who picked out his partner, who in turn picked out their theme. Luckily he was paired with Tina Cohen Chang, one of their friends from glee club. The names were read out loud as well as the themes; Quinn zoned out and barely noticed that it was Rachel's turn. The brunette dug her hand through the now small amount of strips of paper and pulled one out.

"Who's your partner Rachel?" The teacher asked.  
"Quinn Fabray." Rachel read out, letting out a sigh.

"Okay, Quinn, would you please pick out your theme?" she said, walking over to Quinn and handing her the second bowl. She put her hand into it and picked out the first paper that came into contact.

"Love." Quinn read out loud from the paper, staring blankly at it. The first sound that registered to her mind was Kurt's chuckle which he tried to suppress. She took a deep breath and watched her teacher walk over to Brittney as she kicked her best friend from under the table.

"Ow!" he whispered loudly.

"I hate you." Quinn whispered back as Brittney and Santana celebrated over the fact that they were partners.

"I'm sorry but the irony, my God!" Kurt said as he laughed silently, throwing himself back in his seat. Quinn rolled her eyes and let out another deep breath.

"You are so going to hell." Quinn chuckled.

"After this assignment? I'll meet you there!" Kurt said, still laughing as the bell rang, signaling that it was lunch period. Quinn walked over to her locker to stuff her things into her locker and head to the cafeteria. She was so invested in placing her things in order that she jumped when she heard someone talking to her from her side.

"Okay Fabray listen up." Rachel said as she leaned against the locker next to Quinn, causing her to jump.

"Whoa!" Quinn said, looking to her side suddenly.

"Will you calm down, I swear I'm not going to slushy you, I come in peace." Rachel said.

"You scared the living crap out of me." Quinn said in her defense, causing Rachel to roll her eyes.

"Whatever, listen, I need to keep my grades up if I'm looking at a three year long career of being Head cheerleader." Rachel said. "So just keep that in mind when you're working on our project, kay?"

"Whoa, what do you mean when _I'm _working on our project?" Quinn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean you're the one who's doing this project, isn't English kind of your thing?" Rachel asked, looking at Quinn as if it were crazy for her to think otherwise.

"First of all, a lot of things are 'my thing' I tend to like to keep a good grade point average which will eventually get me into a good school." Quinn said, enticing another eye roll from Rachel. "Second of all, _I _will not be doing anything for this project because _we _are partners for this assignment which means the _both _of us are going to work on it."

"You can't be serious." Rachel said.

"In fact I am, dead serious!" Quinn said, closing her locker with an annoyed slam. "You're head of the cheerios which means team work is supposed to be your forte, so we'll organize and split up the work evenly, then bring it together to make a presentation worthy of an A+"

"Great, so then we'll never have to talk to each other again." Rachel said with a shrug. It was Quinn's turn to roll her eyes.

"Fine." Quinn said with a smile, turning around and walking away from the head cheerleader. She walked to the cafeteria as fast as possible and met up with Kurt who was sitting with Tina, giggling over something.

"Hey guys." She said as she sat down next to Kurt.

"Hey Quinn." Tina said with a smile.

"What are you two giggling about?" Quinn asked, taking a sip from her vitamin water.

"Just wondering what Mr. Schue will give us for an assignment this week." Kurt said, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Oh, God please let it be anything but love songs." Quinn said, throwing her head back in desperation.

"Yeah seeing as you'll be getting enough love from Rachel Berry!" Kurt teased again.

"Ugh, that girl is hot, but she's the devil incarnated." Quinn said, picking at her salad furiously.

"Did something happen?" Tina asked.

"Just little miss Bitch Berry assuming I'll willingly do the assignment for _both _of us and still getting a good enough grade to not affect her reputation with that dinosaur of a coach." Quinn said, spitting as much venom in her words as possible.

"Whoa, girl, chill!" Kurt said, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Did you set her straight?"

"Hell yes!" Quinn said with her mouth full.

"Good." Tina said. "God I hate those cheerleaders, thinking they own everything and everyone in this school."

"The Jocks too." Kurt rolled his eyes at the group of oafs that passed them making as much noise as possible.

"Whatever, I can't wait for this day to be over so we can go to glee club and I can do something I actually enjoy." Quinn said, scooping up some more of her food into her mouth.

The day was going smoothly for Rachel, that is until she and Finn had Spanish class and got a test from the week before back.

"A D?!" Rachel said, appalled.

"I'm sorry Rachel but you're going to have to try harder." Mr. Schuster said with a shrug.

"This is going to kill my rep with coach Sylvester!" She said. "Mr. Schue there's got to be something you can do!"

"Yeah, coach Tenaka is going to kill me!" Finn said, looking at his teacher with pleading eyes. Mr. Schuster took a deep breath.

"Okay, there is one thing you can do that can allow me to add extra credit to your final grade." The Spanish teacher said.

"Anything!" Finn and Rachel said in unison.

"Join the glee club." Mr. Schuster stated.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yes chapter two is already out! First of all I would like to thank Sofia for giving me this prompt! You rock girl :D**

**Secondly feel free to follow me on tumblr: I post updates there about my fanfics. Thanks again for the great response!**

* * *

"Do you think we'll have any new members this year?" Kurt whispered to his best friend.

"I don't know" Quinn said "You know people at this school; glee club isn't exactly the most popular group"

"Yeah, but you never know." Kurt said with a shrug.

"Okay guys, sorry I'm late, but I have good news" Mr. Schuster said as he walked into the choir room. "We have two new members who will be joining our club as of today."

"Wow." Quinn whispered over to Kurt. "You called it."

"Never doubt my sixth sense Fabray." Kurt said with a smile.

"Everyone, please give a warm glee club welcome to Finn Hudson, and Rachel Berry." Mr. Schuster said as the head cheerleader and the quarterback walked into the choir room and stood next to their teacher. Quinn and Kurt just looked wide eyed at the two as the rest of the club clapped for them.

"So guys, as a rite of passage, before any new member is officially recruited into the club they have to sing a song." The Spanish teacher explained to the new members. Rachel nodded while Finn just looked dumbfounded. "So, do you have anything you know off the top of your head?"

"I do." Rachel said with a smile. Mr. Schuster nodded at her and she went to tell Brad, the piano player, what song she wanted to sing. He nodded at her so she told the band as well, she stood in the middle of the choir room with Finn and Mr. Schue sitting in the front row as the music began.

_Don't tell me not to live,_

_Just sit and putter,_

_Life's candy and the sun's_

_A ball of butter._

_Don't bring around a cloud_

_To rain on my parade!_

The whole glee club watched as the small girl belted out each note perfectly. Quinn and Kurt just watched, gob smacked, having no idea the head cheerleader had such a big voice. They just watched, taking in every note that she threw at them. Quinn became mesmerized with every word the brunette sang out. Her curiosity of whether or not the petite girl can sing turned into awe, she couldn't help but smile as tears began to sting her eyes. The girl's voice was so beautiful it hurt.

After a few minutes, the cheerleader belted out the very last note as the music stopped. As she finished, the entire glee club, Quinn and Kurt included, stood up in uproarious applause. The brown eyed girl smiled and took her seat next to Finn.

"Okay, Finn, do you have a song in mind?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Uhh, yeah, I have something." He said, going up to the band and telling them the song, as well as Brad. The music quickly started playing and Finn voice took over the room.

_She keeps Moet et Chandon_

_In her pretty cabinet_

_'Let them eat cake' she says_

_Just like Marie Antoinette_

_A built-in remedy_

_For Khrushchev and Kennedy_

_At any time an invitation_

_You can't decline_

The tall boy sang his song as the rest of the glee club clapped along, enjoying the famous Queen song. Eventually his song ended and the glee club clapped, though not as loudly as they did for Rachel. Finn sat down next to the head cheerleader and Mr. Schuster stood up again.

"Okay, now for this week's assignment I want you to do a duet with a partner who I will choose for you, and you have to sing about…" He said, walking up to the board, marker in hand. He wrote out the letters slowly

'Hate'

"Mr. Schue why are you having us sing about hate?" Tina asked.

"Good question Tina." Mr Schuster said. "Hate is just as strong as love, we sing about love so many times, yet we never take the time to sing about what we hate. Also, I've noticed rivalries taking place in school."

"So what exactly is the point of this assignment?" Kurt asked.

"The point of it is to air out your anger, so that you can focus on the good." Mr. Schuster explained. "I will be picking out your partners for the sole reason that I know whose voices match whose, also seeing as we have new members I would like to invoke some mingling so that we can truly be a team."

The Spanish teacher started calling out the names of the duos. Being a small group of now fourteen people, it didn't take long for Quinn's name to be called out.

"Quinn, you will be singing with one of our new members, Rachel." He said to the blonde whilst giving a nod to the brunette.

"You've got to be kidding me." Both Quinn and Rachel muttered under their breaths, though no one heard them and they didn't hear each other. Eventually the glee session ended and everyone left the choir room. While Quinn was packing up her stuff Rachel walked up to her.

"Hello again." She said.

"Hey." Quinn said, slightly confused as to why the head cheerleader was speaking to her so…nicely.

"So, I was thinking, since the universe is clearly hell bent on us working together, we could at least see how it turns out." Rachel said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What are you saying?" Quinn asked.

"Look, we clearly are not the best of friends, I barely even know you-" Rachel said.

"And yet you torment me every chance you get." Quinn said, standing up and looking down at the shorter girl.

"Right." Rachel said, feeling slightly intimidated at the height difference, without Brittney and Santana around, Rachel barely stood much of a chance against the taller girl. "So let's sing about how we don't like each other, or the situation we've been put into."

"Do you have a song in mind?" Quinn asked.

"As a matter of fact I do." Rachel said. "We can sing 'what is this feeling' from my all-time favorite musical, Wicked."

"I'm familiar." Quinn said with a nod.

"I think I should sing the part of Elphaba, since clearly I'm as good as Idina Menzel." Rachel stated matter of factly.

"Not exactly why I think you should be Elphaba, but go on." Quinn said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"So, look up the lyrics, learn your part, and how about we meet here tomorrow at lunch to practice?" Rachel asked.

"Sounds like a plan." Quinn nodded.

"In that case I'll see you tomorrow." Rachel said, turning on her heel and walking out of the choir room. Quinn packed the last of her things and walked out as well. Both girls arrived home a short while later and practiced their song.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to post this, but I got lost in reading another Fanfic. I know I know I suck, you can kill me later! Also, am I the only one who noticed the Glee cast has gone a little crazy? I mean seriously! Though Dianna does look hot in her new hair!**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

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The next day they met up at lunch to practice their song, after they were done, Rachel was sitting at the piano while Quinn was standing.

"So, listen…" Rachel began, not sure how to put her words, she took a deep breath and went on "I was wondering if you could help me."

"With what?" Quinn asked, curious as to why the head cheerleader would ask her of all people to help her.

"You know that, to be able to be in the squad, I need to keep a certain grade point average." Rachel explained.

"Yeah, I know." Quinn said.

"Thing is, I'm kind of failing math." Rachel said, slightly embarrassed. Quinn looked at her with a surprised expression.

"Oh…" Was all the blonde could say.

"So, I was wondering if you could, maybe help me study?" Rachel asked. "My math teacher said I should ask you cause you had really good grades."

"Uh, wow really?" Quinn asked, the brunette just nodded at her. "Umm, I guess I could help, yeah."

"Thank you so much." Rachel said, a relieved look on her face as she let out a breath.

"No problem, umm, how about you come over to my house after school tomorrow?" Quinn suggested.

"Tomorrow's no good, I have cheerios practice." Rachel said.

"Okay, Friday then?" Quinn asked. Rachel nodded, smirking slightly at the blonde.

"Okay, see you at glee practice then." Quinn said, picking up her bag and walking out of the choir room as the bell rang, signaling the start of fifth period. She walked to her Chemistry class which she shared with Kurt.

"The weirdest thing just happened." Quinn whispered to him as she walked into class and sat down next to him.

"You spent more than a minute with Rachel Berry and _didn't _get the biggest hard on of your life?" Kurt answered sarcastically.

"No, I said weird not miraculous." Quinn said. "Rachel just asked me to tutor her in Math"

"Well well it seems our head bitchio is warming up to you." Kurt said with a smile.

"Don't call her that." Quinn mumbled.

"Quinnie, get over her, it's never going to happen." Kurt said, putting his hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"Whatever, I can see her totally crushing on Finn." Quinn said. "Which makes no sense cause that guy is tiny down there."

"You act as if you know…" Kurt said.

"Who exactly helped you take a peek into the boy's locker room freshman year?" Quinn said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well yes that makes sense- Wait you saw Finn naked that day?" he asked.

"Yes, and I had to cleanse my eyes with acid to get the image out of my head." Quinn said with a disgusted look on her face.

"Wait, so how tiny are we talking here?" Kurt said with a giggle. Quinn smiled and pulled out her shortest pencil, which had been attacked furiously by a sharpened the day before. Kurt looked down at it and couldn't suppress his laughter. He covered it by pretending he was coughing.

That day went by pretty quickly and it was soon time for the glee club to meet up once again, which meant that it was time for Quinn and Rachel to sing their song. Mr. Schuster walked into the class only a minute late, surprising the whole club.

"Okay guys, so, does anyone have their assignment ready?" He asked. Rachel shot her hand up in the air and Quinn smiled at him.

"Okay, Rachel, Quinn, go ahead and show us what you've prepared." The teacher said, gesturing for them to get up and start performing. The music started and their voices took over the room

(Quinn, _Rachel, _**Both, ****_Glee_**)

What is this feeling so sudden and new?

_I felt the moment I laid eyes on you _

my pulse is rushing

_my head is reeling_

my face is flushing

**what is this feeling fervid as a flame,  
does it have a name, yeeesss,  
loathing unadulterated loathing**

for your face

_your voice_

Your clothing

**let's just say I loathe it all.  
Every little trait however small,  
makes my very flesh begin to crawl, with simple utter loathing  
there's a strange exhilaration in such total  
detestation. It's so pure so strong  
though i do admit it came on fast  
still i do believe that it can last  
and i will be loathing,  
loathing you my whole life long**

-The glee club got into the song, and when the time came they joined in as well.—

**_Dear Galinda you are just too good  
how do you stand it i dont think i could  
she's a terror she's a tartar we dont mean to show a bias  
but Galinda you're a martyr. _**

Well, these things are sent to try us.

-Rachel's eyebrow hitched, impressed that the blonde could hit the high not required in that line.—

**_Poor Galinda forced to reside  
with someone so disgusticified  
we just want to tell you we're all on your side!  
we share your _**

**_(Loathing,)_** **What is this feeling so**  
**_(unadulterated loathing)_** **sudden and new felt the**  
**_(for her face)_** **moment I laid eyes on**  
**_(her voice)_** **you,my pulse is**  
**_(her clothing)_** **rushing my head is**  
**_(lets just say)_**** reeling**  
**_(WE LOATHE IT ALL!)_**  
**Oh what is this feeling?**  
**_(every little trait however)_**  
**_(small makes our very flesh)_** **does it have a name  
****_(begin to crawl)_**** yes, ahhhh  
Loathing  
****_(Loathing)_**  
**There's a strange  
exhiliration**  
**_(Loathing)_**  
**In such total  
detestation**  
**_(Loathing)_**  
**It's so pure so strong  
So strong**

-The girls belted out the notes as they came, spinning around the room. Rachel smiled at Quinn and the blonde couldn't help but smile back, they were singing about hating each other and they were smiling at each other-

**Though I do admit it came on fast  
still I do believe that it can last and I will be**

**Loathing** **_(Loathing)_** **for forever**  
**Loathing** (**_Loathing)_**  
**truly deeply**

**loathing you**  
**_(Loathing you)_**  
**my whole life long**  
**_(loathing, unadulterated loathing_**)

The song ended and the rest of the glee club erupted into applause, including Mr. Schuster, who came up to them and put an arm around each of them

"Well done guys!" He said with a huge smile on his face. "You did great, the theme was hate, obviously you're not the best of friends but you still managed to make the song fun and enjoy singing together, that's all I could ask!"

Quinn and Rachel smiled, high fived each other happily and sat down in their original chairs next to each other, not bothering with the fact that everyone could see them still smiling at each other.

The rest of that week passed pretty quickly and before they knew it, Rachel and Quinn were at Quinn's house studying math.

"So how do you work this one out?" Rachel asked her, turning her book around and pointing out the equation which was giving her a hard time.

"The same way we worked out the one before it, and the one before that, and the one before that." Quinn said with a small smile on her face. Rachel turned the book back to her and looked at the equation again with furrowed eyebrows as she scratched the back of her neck.

"Here, let me explain it to you again slowly." Quinn said, grabbing her notes and a blank piece of paper. She ran the head cheerleader through each step at solving the question, taking it step by step and making sure that the brunette understood each step before moving on to the next one.

"Wait but, where did that two come from?" Rachel asked.

"That's the value of x" Quinn said.

"How did you get the value of x?" Rachel asked again, feeling like she missed something important.

"By switching these over so that x becomes the answer rather than part of the sum." Quinn explained again, pin pointing the numbers and symbols that she was referring to.

"Oh, I get it." Rachel nodded. "So how do you get the value of y then?"

"By taking the value of x, which is two, and instead of putting in the letter x, you put in the number two." Quinn spoke as she wrote down the updated version of the sum.

"It's that easy?" Rachel said, looking closer at the paper as if she saw incorrectly.

"You'd be amazed how easy this stuff is when you understand it." Quinn giggled at the shorter girl.

"When you're right you're right." Rachel shrugged. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a few lollipops, taking a pink colored one and ripping off the wrapper. Quinn couldn't help but look at the brunette as she wrapped her tongue around the candy, playing with it in her mouth.

_Shit that's hot. _The voice inside Quinn's mind said, causing her to bite her lower lip, still watching the girl intently as she read her notes and wrote something down. She grabbed at the lollipop again and started bobbing her head up and down on the candy. Quinn could feel herself stirring in her jeans as she tried to concentrate on her work and not the cheerleader. She could hear faint slurping noises coming from the other girl's mouth and just as she was about to fall back into concentration she heard a faint moan coming from the brunette's throat.

Rachel hadn't even noticed Quinn watching her as she sucked on her lollipop for all it's worth. It was always something normal for her to do, when she was stressed out because of homework she couldn't understand, her dads had always given her sugar free lollipops so that she could take out all her tension on the candy. It was something she was used to, she barely even noticed how much noise she made, it helped her concentrate which actually meant she would be able to do her work.

But to the blonde the way she was attacking that defenseless piece of candy was pure, unadulterated torture. She closed her eyes for a second to try and pull herself together, and instead the only thing she could see was Rachel tongue wrapping itself around her length instead of the pink candy that occupied her mouth. Quinn gulped, not sure if it was audible or not, and cleared her throat, catching Rachel's attention.

"Quinn, you okay? You look kind of…flushed." The cheerio said, pulling the lollipop out of her mouth, leaving a string of drool hang between the candy and her wet lips, the brunette wiped her mouth with her hand.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine; I just need a drink of water." Quinn said, getting up. She stopped dead in her tracks, her predicament not enough to make her forget her manners. "Do you want anything?"

"No thanks, I'm fine." The brunette responded. Quinn took this as her cue to walk out of the living room and into the kitchen. She opened her fridge and picked up a small bottle of water, opening the tap and gulping it down in one breath, letting the cold feeling of the water flowing down her throat calm her down, relieving some of her tension by crushing the plastic bottle in her hands as it was emptied of its contents. She threw the empty bottle away and leaned against the kitchen counter for a minute taking in deep breaths to calm herself down.

Then it all came rushing back to her, the little comments Kurt made about her having it bad, and the way she was also put in a trance when she saw Rachel walking down the hallway with that little sway in her hip. Even the way she just couldn't resist agreeing to help her, even though she was a bitch and a pain in the ass and every other insulting thing which she felt like killing anyone for calling her. Quinn realized that there was one thing that she knew without a shadow of a doubt.

She had it bad for Rachel Berry.

And that girl would be the death of her.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am so sorry this chapter took so long! I was just a little blocked for a bit. hopefully that's gone now and I can get back to updating regularly. I'm thinking of starting a regular once-a-week posting thing. Different days for different stories. Also, the last two episodes of Glee broke my heart in good and bad ways. Anyway. Thanks so much for all your patience, support and awesome reviews! I haven't forgotten about you guys and I will keep updating! Also I made this just a bit longer since it took so long for me to put it up. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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The Monday after the study date, Rachel had a math test that she was nervous for; it was her first test after she got the head cheerio position and she was dead scared that failing this test would make Sue demote her and give the head cheerleader position to someone else. She took a deep breath as she made it towards her class.

"Okay class, I'm giving out the papers. You have the rest of the hour, so take all the time you need, after you're done and you've checked your paper you can give it to me at my desk and leave. You may begin, good luck!" Mr. Winters, the math teacher said as he gave the last few kids their paper. Rachel took in a shaky breath and turned her paper over. She stared at the first question and immediately froze. She couldn't even figure out what was being asked of her, all she could see were a bunch of numbers and letters that made absolutely no sense to her that is, until she remembered what she was told on Friday. She began answering the questions to the best of her abilities. She remembered what Quinn had told her about the equations, finding the area of a triangle and just about everything that the blonde had explained with incredible patience. She worked the equations out step by step as it had been explained to her, Rachel shut out every single noise that was going on around her and all she could hear was Quinn's voice in her head, explaining every little thing to her. It was like she was sitting beside her telling her everything she needed to know. She was only snapped out of her concentration half an hour later, when she noticed people starting to get up and hand in their tests. She couldn't help but gulp at this, a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. She just shook her head and dove back into her work, hearing the blonde's voice in her mind again. It was like she was possessed, the pen was writing as Quinn's voice guided her hand, telling her what to do; it was like Quinn had taken over and was doing the test for her. It was an amazing feeling the likes of which she's never felt during a test; it felt like she actually knew what she was doing. It was incredible, she had done nothing insanely different than what she usually did to study, the only difference was that instead of looking at the textbook's notes to figure out just what she was supposed to do, it was Quinn, explaining it to her slowly and patiently, over and over again until it stuck, in that soft voice of hers as she brushed away a couple locks of that gorgeous blonde hair of hers.

_Wait, what?_ Rachel thought to herself, and then shook her head, _Focus!_

She continued writing down answer after answer, showing her work clearly each time. She was so deep in thought, finishing up her last question that she barely heard Mr. Winters clearing his throat and speaking to gain the class's attention.

"Okay class, I'll give you a minute to finish up what you're doing, make sure you have your names written and then I'll collect the papers and you can go.

Rachel was confused for a second, then her eyes shot up to the clock on the wall. An hour had passed already and she had barely noticed. She took a deep breath and wrote her final answer on the last question, made sure that her name was on the paper and handed it to Mr. Winters. She picked up her book bag and walked out of the class quietly just as the bell signaled the lunch break. She walked over to her locker silently and opened it, putting her math text book and notes back in, she only then realized that she was shaking. She closed her locker with a slam and leaned her back against it, letting out a shaky breath.

"Rachel?" She heard a familiar soft voice call her. She looked over to her side and saw a very familiar blonde walking towards her.

"Hey Quinn." She said, barely audible.

"Hey are you okay?" The blonde asked softly. "You're shaking did something happen?"

"I just came out of my math test." Rachel said, a small quiver in her chin, why was she about to break down in tears?

"Yeah I was about to ask, how did it go?" Quinn asked, brushing a small strand of her behind her ear.

"Honestly I don't know." Rachel gulped, desperately trying to push back the lump that had formed in her throat. "I mean, at first I was stuck, I froze it was like the question was in Greek or Latin or-"

"Rachel, you're rambling, calm down." Quinn said putting a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder. "What happened next?"

"I don't know, I just re-read the question over and over until I remembered what you told me and then I just answered it as well as I could and then I remembered everything you told me for the whole test, but it took the whole hour and I barely got to write down the answer to the last question before Mr. Winters told us that time was up, I wrote down the answer quickly and gave it to him but, I have this sickening feeling that-" she trailed off, dreading the next words that were about to escape from her lips. She felt her bottom lip shake and tears stinging her eyes, threatening to come out.

"Shh, Rachel, it's going to be okay!" Quinn said, leaning down and looking the shaken girl in front of her in the eyes. "You did great on Friday; you were able to solve every question perfectly after I explained it to you! Did you study during the weekend?"

"Yes of course!" Rachel said with a nod.

"Did you check your answers?" Quinn asked again.

"Yes and it was just like you said, I got them all right." Rachel sighed out.

"Then what's the matter?" Quinn asked with a small smirk.

"I'm just scared to death that if I fail Sue will put someone else as head cheerleader, or worse, kick me off the squad completely!" She said, a tear making its way down her cheek. Quinn couldn't help herself, she reached up to the girls cheek and wiped her tear away.

"Listen to me Rach, that position is yours okay! You're going to ace that test and you're going to be head cheerleader! And god dammit you're going to stay head cheerleader till we graduate!" Quinn said.

"Y-you really think so?" Rachel stuttered, surprised by how much the blonde believed in her.

"Yes." Quinn said softly, nodding. "I do."

"But how can you be so sure?" Rachel asked.

"Because you're passionate about it, I see it in every pep rally when I see you cheer, at every game; you have a glint in your eyes that makes it obvious to the whole audience that you're doing what you love." The blonde said, not realizing that she hasn't taken her hand of Rachel's cheek. "And when you're that passionate about something, you fight for it."

Rachel gulped, looking into the blonde's beautiful hazel eyes, mesmerized.

"You'll be okay." Quinn said, nodding at Rachel.

"Quinn I…thank you." Was all Rachel could get out.

"It's no problem." Quinn said, giving her a soft smile.

"I don't get it, why are you helping me so much when…when I torment you so much?" Rachel asked, looking down at the ground. Quinn's hand traveled down to the brunette's chin and she softly lifted her head up to look at her again.

"Because I know you don't do all those things because you want to, it's the pressure from the rest of the kids in this stupid school. I get it, you're on top so you feel like if you don't do what the other cheerleaders and jocks do then your rep will get hurt. It's okay. Just know that sometimes it's not reputation that's important, it's who your real friends are." Quinn said softly, her voice going down to just above a whisper as she finished. Rachel just looked at her, wide eyed and gob smacked at how much this girl, who she barely ever spoke to before, understood her. She didn't say anything; she just wrapped her arms around the blonde tightly. She heard Quinn chuckle and then felt her arms wrap around her back.

"It's going to be okay." Quinn whispered again. After a couple of minutes they pulled apart and headed towards the cafeteria together, but then split up to go to their separate tables.

"Hey Q." Kurt said as she sat down with her tray. "What took you so long?"

"Just talking to Rachel." Quinn said absentmindedly as she began eating her pasta.

"Peacefully and without any bloodshed?" Kurt asked, amazed.

"Yes, Kurt." Quinn said, rolling her eyes.

"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Kurt said.

"Will you knock that off?" Quinn said, turning to him. "You know, she's not that bad once you get to know her."

"Quinn, you spent all of maybe six hours with her in total not counting classes because you don't actually talk to each other, what makes you think you know her?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think I'm in a better position to judge her anyway." Quinn said.

"You sang a song together and studied math, unless she's an equation that doesn't mean you know anything about her." Kurt argued again.

"Whatever, out of the two of us she's only hugged one of us so I think that means something." Quinn said with a smile.

"Wait she hugged you?" Kurt asked.

"Yep, just a few minutes ago." The blonde responded.

"Why?" Kurt raised his eyebrow again.

"Because she was scared of failing her math test and I assured her that if she studied hard enough and understood everything I explained to her on Friday then she probably aced it." Quinn said, lifting a fork full of pasta to her mouth and biting the food off.

"You do realize if she fails she is going to slushie youto oblivion?" Kurt warned.

"Firstly, she never slushied me, she always had someone else do it, secondly, she isn't going to fail." Quinn stated.

"Okay firstly she always had someone else do it so that she wouldn't get any of it on her cheerios uniform, otherwise Sue would kill her, secondly, what makes you so sure she passed?" Kurt asked.

"Because, Kurtis, unlike you I actually have some faith in the girl." Quinn said with a smile at her best friend.

"Okay A, my name is not Kurtis! B, you don't have faith in her, you have a major girl boner for her!" Kurt said.

"Don't remind me of boners from that girl, she tortured me on Friday." Quinn said, running her hands through her hair.

"What happened?" Kurt said with a chuckle.

"One of her tricks to maintain concentration?" Quinn began, Kurt nodded. "Sucking on lollipops, loudly."

"Well at least you know she'll have experience." Kurt said with a wink.

"Not funny Hummel, I nearly ruined my good jeans." Quinn said sternly., finishing up the rest of her pasta in a few mouthfuls.

"It seems pretty funny to me." Kurt said, giggling.

"Whatever." Quinn said her mouth still full of pasta; she chewed and swallowed, wiping her mouth. "You want to head to the choir room and sing a little?"

"What's wrong Fabray got some pent up frustration you want to get rid of?" Her best friend teased.

"Yes, I even wrote a new song, it's called 'My best friend is a little shit.'" Quinn teased back.

"Someone's been spending a lot of time on their Tumblr." Kurt said with a smile.

"It's tough running a blog, okay?" Quinn responded. "Now come on, we may not have enough people to compete, but that doesn't mean we can be sloppy."

"I hope we get new members soon, there's still enough time to apply for sectionals if we get just three more members." Kurt said.

"I know." Quinn said with a sigh. "Come on, let's go."

They made their way to the choir room and Quinn instantly sat at the piano, pressing a few keys to start up a tune. Kurt immediately recognized it and smile to her, they always sang this song together. His voce filled the choir room as he belted out the first not of the first verse. It was their song, they sang it together to audition for the glee club the first time, and then they got to know each other and became best friends. Kurt smiled widely at the blonde on the piano, it was incredible, every time they made a memory he heard that song in the back of his head. He had a distant dream that they would sing it at Nationals together before the group number, which would bring them their first championship trophy. But he knew that it was very unlikely, they weren't even eligible to compete because they couldn't find three people willing to join their club. It saddened him to think that people were so closed-minded in this school that even such a thing as singing is seen as being a 'loser.'

They sang the last few notes of their song and Quinn played the last few notes on the piano. They smiled at each other and let a few giggles escape. The bell rang, signaling fifth period.

"Ugh, I have to get to class." Kurt said with an eye roll.

"Okay, I'll see you in English?" she said, giving him a quick hug.

"Yeah, unless you're too busy staring at Berry." He said with a smile, she slapped his shoulder as they pulled back.

"You're too much." She muttered.

"You know you love me." He said as he waved and walked out of the choir room. She sighed, grabbed her bag and walked to class. Chemistry dragged on, but eventually the hour passed and it was time for English. She walked into class and went straight to her desk next to Kurt. Rachel walked in and saw them sitting at the back, she waved to Quinn with a smile, who waved back, surprised that the girl would actually bother to interact with her unless she needed to. She sat down between Brittany and Santana just as she always does.

"What's with the wave to those losers?" Santana said, eyebrow cocked at her best friend.

"Quinn's helping me in math, and I was only being nice." Rachel said with a shrug.

"You've been acting weird since you joined to dancing singing wannabes!" Santana said.

"Say what you want, I joined Glee club for my grades and you know what, it's actually fun. And you know how much I like singing!" Rachel defended. Santana just shrugged.

"How fun can it be?" The Latina retorted, not believing her friend.

"Extremely! Why don't you join? At least I'll have someone to talk to while we're there." Rachel suggested.

"Isn't Finn in the club? Maybe you should use that time wisely to ask him out." Santana suggested, bumping the shorter girl's shoulder playfully.

"Finn is the last thing on my mind right now." Rachel sighed.

"Oh yeah, how'd that math test go?" Santana asked.

"I don't know, I blanked at first and then it was like my subconscious took over and I could have been half dead and still finish in time." Rachel said solemnly.

"If you don't pass I'm slushying the daylights out of Fabray." Santana threatened.

"Santana, that's not fair! If anything, she helped me. If I fail it's not her fault!" Rachel said.

"She's right San." Brittany chimed in. "Plus, it's not nice slushying people, Lord Tubbington told me that slushies are made of rainbows which means that you're using rainbows for evil and that's not nice, and you're endangering unicorns because as we all know, unicorns live on rainbows."

"Okay fine, Britt, I promise I won't slushy the dweeb" Santana said with a sweet smile at her blonde friend, who smiled back.

"And I think Glee club would be fun, do you guys dance there?" Brittany asked Rachel.

"Sometimes, yeah." Rachel answered with a smile. "There's this guy Mike who's a really good dancer too."

"Do you think I can join?" Brittany asked with a smile that threatened to split her face in half.

"Sure Britt, all you need to do is audition, but Mr. Schuester is pretty cool so if you can sing like I know you can then you'll definitely get in!" Rachel assured her friend.

"San, will you audition with me?" Brittany asked the Latina with a smile. Santana looked into the bright blue eyes of her blonde best friend and just couldn't resist, she knew that the glee club was dubbed 'loser ville.' But how could she say no to Brittany?

"Sure thing Britt." She found herself saying with a smile. Brittany's eyes lit up more than Santana thought possible.

Rachel just smiled at her two best friends, then she turned her attention back to the lesson and continued taking notes. She needed to pass English too and chatting with her friend sure as hell was not going to help.

"What was that about?" Kurt asked, watching as the head cheerleader, who barely gave them the time of day, waved at his best friend.

"She's just being nice." Quinn shrugged off.

"Really? Why?" Kurt asked.

"Because I helped her in math. And then she had a bit of a breakdown in the hallway before lunch." Quinn said.

"What?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah she was worried about her test, I gave her a bit of a pep talk." Quinn said non-chalantly. "That's when she hugged me."

"Were there tears?" Kurt asked.

"You're such a gossip!" Quinn said, he shrugged at her and she rolled her eyes. "Yes okay she cried just a bit, but I took care of it."

"No doubt about that nine point five." Kurt said with a playful wink at the blonde.

"Shut up before I kick you in the nads..._again_." Quinn warned.

"Oh God! Don't remind me!" Kurt said, grabbing the crotch of his pants in pain at the memory.

"I told you trampoline-ing in my back yard was a bad idea!" Quinn snickered.

"You did it on purpose!" Kurt glared.

"I did not." She chuckled. He shoved her playfully.

"You're terrible!" He scoffed.

That they went by without a hitch as did the next, and before they knew it they were back in the choir room.

"Geez if Mr. Schue smiles any wider his face is going to crack." Quinn said with a smile of her own, wondering why their director was so happy.

"He's in an incredibly good mood, he's got a skip in his step and I'm pretty sure he danced the whole choreography to singing in the rain on his way here." Kurt whispered. Tina and Quinn giggled quietly as the last few members walked in.

"Okay!" Mr. Schuester said with a loud clap of his hands that made a few people jump, namely Finn who was too busy chatting Rachel up to notice what was going on. "Guys, I have some amazing news!"

"Oh yeah, he definitely got laid last night." Quinn whispered to her two friends. Who both snickered giddily, receiving raised eyebrows from Mike and Matt who sat next to them.

"In an amazing turn of events, three new members have decided to join our club!" He announced proudly and excitedly. "Everyone please welcome our newest members!"

The door opened and the last three people you would expect to walk into that room walked to the center of that same room.

"Everyone, give a warm glee welcome to Santana Lopez, Brittany Pierce and Noah Puckerman." Mr. Schuester announced.

"Call me Puck." The tall, muscular, Mo hawked boy announced.

"So, guys, what songs have you prepared for your audition?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"I prepared a song by my fellow Jew, Neil Diamond." Puck stated proudly. He moved towards the instruments and grabbed an acoustic guitar. Santana and Brittany took a seat near Rachel as Puck began strumming the intro to his song.

_Where it began,  
I can't begin to knowin'  
But then I know it's growing strong  
Was in the spring  
And spring became the summer  
Who'd have believed you'd come along._

Hands, touchin' hands  
Reachin' out, touchin' me touchin' you  
Sweet Caroline  
Good times never seemed so good  
I've been inclined  
To believe they never would  
But now I, look at the night  
And it don't seem so lonely  
We fill it up with only two.

And when I hurt,  
Hurtin' runs off my shoulders  
How can I hurt when I'm with you  
Warm, touchin' warm  
Reachin' out, touchin' me touchin' you  
Sweet Caroline  
Good times never seemed so good  
I've been inclined,  
To believe they never would  
Oh, no, no

Sweet Caroline  
Good times never seemed so good  
Sweet Caroline,  
I believe they never could  
Sweet Caroline...

Applause rang out at the end of the song and Puck stood proudly. Mr. Schuester clapped an arm on his shoulder.

"Very good Puck, and it looks like we have a new guitar player in the club. Take a seat buddy." He said. Puck nodded, put the guitar back and sat down next to Santana. The Latina and the tall blonde cheerleader stood up together.

"Mr. Schue, we wanted to do a duet, is that okay?" Brittany asked sweetly.

"Sure thing Brittany." He said with a smile.

"Puck." Santana said with a snap of her fingers.

"huh?" the Mo hawked boy asked, confused for a second. She shot him a look. "Oh! Right!"

He stood up and grabbed the guitar again. Sitting down on a stool to the side and strumming the guitar softly.

(Santana, _Brittany, _**both**)

Do you hear me? I'm talking to you

Across the water across the deep blue ocean

Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying

_Boy I hear you in my dreams_

_I feel your whisper across the sea_

_I keep you with me in my heart_

_You make it easier when life gets hard_

**I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend**

**Lucky to have been where I have been**

**Lucky to be coming home again**

**Ooh ooh ooh**

**They don't know how long it takes**

**Waiting for a love like this**

**Every time we say goodbye**

**I wish we had one more kiss**

**I'll wait for you I promise you, I will**

**I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend**

**Lucky to have been where I have been**

**Lucky to be coming home again**

**Lucky we're in love in every way**

**Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed**

**Lucky to be coming home someday**

And so I'm sailing through the sea

To an island where we'll meet

You'll hear the music fill the air

I'll put a flower in your hair

_Though the breezes through trees_

_Move so pretty you're all I see_

_As the world keeps spinning 'round_

_You hold me right here, right now_

**I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend**

**Lucky to have been where I have been**

**Lucky to be coming home again**

**I'm lucky we're in love in every way**

**Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed**

**Lucky to be coming home someday**

**Ooh ooh oohOoh ooh ooh, ooh**

Again applause rang out for the two cheerleaders as they smiled at the rest of the club and took their seats next to Rachel.

"Okay, guys, this is amazing! Three new members! I think you all know what that means!" Mr. Schuester said excitedly. Finn, Rachel, Santana, Brittany and Puck looked at each other, lost and confused.

"We get to go to compete at Sectionals!" Mr. Schuester announced loudly. The entire glee club cheered and whistled except for the five newest members, who retained their confused daze at each other. "We'll start working immediately on song selections! This is amazing guys!"

The club clapped and cheered, Brittany just smiled her bright, happy smile and clapped along while Santana just raised an eye brow, not sure what her teacher was talking about. She raised her hand.

"Mr. Schue, what are sectionals?" She asked.

"Sectionals, Santana, are the first step in a three step competition for show choirs of schools all over America. The requirements are that the club has twelve members, and now that you, Brittany and Puck have joined, we can finally compete, and, hopefully, win at Nationals!" Mr. Schuester explained happily. The glee club celebrated once more, high fiving each other and cheering. Their cheers nearly drowned out the sound of the bell, signaling the end of all after school activities. The gleeks started filing out of the room. Rachel came up to Quinn as she was packing her stuff.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hey Rach." Quinn said with a smile.

"So, these sectionals seem to be a pretty big deal for you guys huh?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, well, Glee club is the only place we can really be ourselves, and if we don't win at Nationals then Mr. Figgins will cut our funding, so we need to give it our all." Quinn explained.

"Wow. Well that explains it." Rachel said softly.

"Explains what?" Quinn asked.

"Well, initially I joined because I failed Spanish, and Mr. Schue said that he would give me extra credit if I joined. Same with Finn." Rachel explained to the blonde.

"Oh." Quinn said with a nod. "That does explain it. Normally cheerleaders and football team members wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near us unless it's to slushy us so…"

"Yeah, about that, I'm doing whatever I can to get them to stop." Rachel said. "And I'm sorry for all the times I got them to do it, I just…"

"Rach, stop, there's nothing to apologize for. It's in the past, I don't like to dwell on the past. I enjoy the present and work on my future." Quinn said smiling warmly at the brunette that stood before her.

"That's really nice Quinn." Rachel said softly.

"Thanks." Quinn breathed out. "So, what about Santana and Brittany? I know Santana isn't failing Spanish!"

"Oh, I actually convinced them to join, after I joined I realized how fun it could be. When Brittany found out that we dance as well as sing she jumped at the chance and begged Santana to audition with her. Apparently she couldn't say no to her." Rachel explained.

"Wow, that's so sweet…and unexpected of her." Quinn muttered.

"I know right? There's something about Brittany, she can always get to Santana's soft side." Rachel said.

"So what about Puck?" Quinn asked.

"I think Santana said she'd sleep with him if he joined." Rachel shrugged.

"Now that sounds like Santana." Quinn nodded to herself, enticing a giggle from Rachel.

"Well, listen, I have to go but do you want to come over on Saturday so we can start working on our English project?" The head cheerleader asked.

"Yeah I was about to ask. Umm, Saturday should be good, I'll be at your place say…one?" Quinn asked.

"Sure, my dads are out of town for the weekend so the place will be quiet. I'll make us lunch and we can spend the day on it, get it over and done with long before the due date. You never know what could happen that would require some more time." Rachel said.

"Yeah." Quinn nodded in agreement. "okay well I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See you." Rachel said with a smile before walking out of the choir room, shortly followed by the blonde.

The next day, in the five minute allowance between first and second period. Quinn was at her locker talking to Kurt.

"So I'm going to her place on Saturday to work on the project." Quinn said, finishing her explanation of why she had lingered back at the choir room at the end of the previous day.

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Kurt teased. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"You are such a pervert!" she said, slapping him lightly with her notebook.

"Just think about it Quinnie." He said. "You and Rachel, at her place, all alone. Imagine how many lollipops she'll be sucking on to concentrate on the project."

"I hate you…And whoever gave her that method of concentration." Quinn said, pulling out her textbook and placing it in her bag.

"Uh Quinn?" Kurt began, looking at something down the hall.

"Yes, Kurt?" Quinn said with a smile.

"Why is Rachel rushing towards here with a megawatt smile and a paper in her hands?" Kurt asked quickly.

"What are you talking abo-UGH!" Quinn began, getting the wind knocked out of her by something slamming into her back and restricting her breathing.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she heard a familiar voice repeat from behind, just as she registered a pair of arms wrapped around her from the back. She turned around in the hug to find Rachel holding her tightly with a giant smile on her face.

"Rach, you startled me." Quinn said softly. "And why are you thanking me I don't…"

She trailed off as the ecstatic brunette pulled back from her and held up a paper, half of the words were typed, the other half hand written and on the top of the page was a big 'A' written in red with a circle around it.

"I just got my math test back!" Rachel said happily.

"Oh my God!" Quinn said, a smile creeping across her face as she realized what the big red letter meant. "An A? Rachel that's amazing!"

"And it's all thanks to you!" Rachel exclaimed, jumping up and wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck, her legs wrapping themselves around her waist. Quinn gulped as she held the, surprisingly light, brunette up.

"That's sweet Rachel but I'm pretty sure it was all you." Quinn whispered, shocked at the smaller girl's reaction; hoping it won't wake up the not so little friend she hid in her jeans.

"Are you kidding me?" the brunette said, hopping off of her. "I've failed math for all of my life! No matter how hard I studied or how good I felt in it, I always failed, this time, I passed, because of you!"

"You must have done something different that worked." Quinn said again, trying to dismiss the fact that Rachel's passing was all thanks to her.

"I did Quinn, I studied with you. When I was in there taking the test, your voice just kept talking me through every single question. It was as if someone had recorded you while you were explaining all that stuff to me at your place and played the tape in my brain during the test." Rachel said. Kurt tried to choke down his laughter at how silly her explanation sounded.

"Is…is that really what happened? During the test I mean." Quinn asked.

"Yeah, I just heard your voice in my head, clear as it is now, telling me what I had to do and guiding me through every question. You might as well have been sitting next to me telling me everything." Rachel said, smiling at the girl who couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach.

"Wow, Rach, that's really…Wow." Quinn stammered, at a loss for words. Rachel giggled at her.

"I owe you big time! And from now on you're my tutor, got it?" Rachel said, both hands on both of Quinn's shoulders as she continued smiling at her.

"Sure, yeah, no problem!" Quinn agreed.

"I'm serious Quinn this is a three year long blood oath you're signing up for." Rachel said, her smile unwavering.

"Rachel you do realize you are scary sometimes right?" Quinn joked, giggling. The brunette rolled her eyes.

"Meet me in the cafeteria, I'm buying you lunch!" Rachel said.

"Really, Rach, that's not necces-" Quinn began.

"Not offering, you have no choice Fabray." Rachel shook her head and giggled.

"Okay, fine, but I still stand my ground that it's not necessary." Quinn said, hitching up and eyebrow out of habit.

"And I still stand my ground that you saved my ass from the wrath of Sue Sylvester!" Rachel said. The bell rang, signaling the start of second period.

"Come on!" Quinn giggled. "It's time for English and we need as many notes as we can get for the project!"

"Okay but, let me do something before, I won't be able to do this in class." Rachel said.

"Do what?" Quinn asked, confused. Rachel pushed herself up on her toes and wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck one more time, placing her lips on her cheek and softly leaving a kiss on the blonde's pale skin.

"See you in class." The brunette whispered into her ear before pulling back and walking towards their classroom. Quinn stood there, shocked, her heart threatening to beat its way out of her chest and all the butterflies in the world taking their place in her stomach. Her hand went up to where Rachel's lips had touched as she stared off into space.

"Quinn? Quinn?" Kurt asked, waving his hand in front of her face. "Hello? Earth to Fabray do you read?"

"Huh…wha..?" Quinn stammered, giving her best friend some attention, but not able to give it to him fully.

"Please tell me you don't need new pants." He said his face stone cold serious.

"N-no…I just…I…I…"Quinn stammered, still feeling a little tingle where the kiss had been placed, her hand still cupping her cheek like she was afraid it would escaped if she let it go.

"Come on, Romeo in girl form, I'm not about to be late for English because you fainted from being kissed by Rachel." Kurt said, moving behind Quinn and pushing her towards the class.

"Uh huh." Quinn said, a smile creeping wide across her face as she let her friend lead her to class, still stuck in her own dreamy world.

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? leave reviews please :)**

**Songs: Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond, Lucky by Jason Mraz and Cobie Caillat**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! okay so as you can see I updated this pretty quickly, the reason being I wanted to treat you guys. I let way too much time pass before that last update, and I've been getting such a good response that I just couldn't help it! You guys deserve it! Thank you so much for the awesome reviews! Hope you like this chapter!**

**Oh and just a little warning: Prepare your feels for some fluffiness!**

* * *

It took about a half hour into the lesson for Quinn to fully focus on what was going on.

"Welcome back to Earth." Kurt muttered under his breath when he noticed she was actually taking notes.

"Shut up." Quinn said, smiling shyly.

"You are so obvious." Kurt whispered.

"Shut up!" Quinn repeated her face now red.

"Oh relax honey, we all get a little giddy when we get kissed by our crush." Kurt said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Be quiet, she might hear you." Quinn warned.

"Quinn she's on the other side of the god damn classroom, you'd have to have hawk ears to hear me from there." Kurt reassured.

"Let's not count that out as a possibility. That girl never ceases to amaze me." Quinn whispered, glancing over to the back of Rachel's head, then up to the board to copy something the teacher had written down. When she looked back up from her notebook she saw Rachel looking back at her. When their eyes met the brunette lit up in a smile and Quinn automatically smiled back. They held their gaze at each other for about half a minute before Rachel turned back after being tapped on the shoulder by Santana.

"Oh la la, someone's interested in you." Kurt teased.

"She is not, she's just grateful that's all." Quinn dismissed.

"Grateful enough to want to have lunch with you." Kurt said, poking her in her side playfully.

"Stop it!" Quinn squirmed away with a soft giggle. "And it's just lunch!"

"The first of two lunches you and she will be sharing. Let's not forget your study date on Saturday." Kurt reminded.

"It's not studying and it sure as hell isn't a date. We're working on our English assignment." Quinn reminded him.

"Right, right, the 'loooove' theme." Kurt teased again.

"God, just my luck huh?" Quinn said, putting her head in her hands and then running them through her long blonde hair.

"Oh, relax, it'll be fine." Kurt reassured.

Meanwhile at the front of the classroom…

"What's with the smile at Fabray?" Santana asked when Rachel turned back around.

"Oh! I didn't tell you?" Rachel said happily.

"Tell me what?" Santana asked with a raised eye brow. Rachel pulled a paper out of her bag and showed it to the Latina.

"I got an A on my math test!" Rachel said happily.

"Mio Dios! You're kidding me!" Santana said, snatching the paper out of the shorter girl's hand and stared at it in awe. "How the hell did you do this?!"

"I guess it was all thanks to Quinn." Rachel shrugged.

"That dweeb?!" Santana said disgustingly.

"Would you stop it? She's really not that bad." Rachel defended.

"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Santana said, staring at Rachel.

"Come on Santana, how can you say something like that? You haven't even taken the time to get to know her!" Rachel said.

"And I'm not going to! She's a nerd, and her creepy little friend is more of a girl than she is, that's just weird." Santana said, leaning back in her seat.

"Trust you to say something that closed-minded." Rachel huffed, turning back to the board and writing down notes.

"Hey, who are you calling closed-minded?" Santana snapped back.

"I'm just saying, you should get to know people before you judge them." Rachel argued.

"There's only one thing I need to know about those two and that's the fact that they are losers, bottom of the food chain. We're at the top, and don't you dare go compromising your place at the top to play little miss goody goody." Santana challenged.

"You know what? Maybe I will, and maybe I'll help the idiots that go to this school finally learn to stop being douche heads and start respecting one another!" Rachel snapped at her friend. The bell rang and the class started moving out of the classroom. Rachel snatched the paper out of the Latina's hand, grabbed her books and her bag and stormed away from her friends, straight to her locker. Santana followed her and slammed her locker shut.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" the taller girls snapped.

"Watch your tongue with me Lopez!" Rachel commanded.

"Fuck you I'll speak how I want to!" Santana yelled back.

"Get out of my face!" Rachel demanded.

"You think you can defend that loser? Then fine! You can join them!" Santana yelled, then grabbed a slushy cup out of someone's hand and threw it into the brunette's face. She walked away before Rachel could even open her eyes, tossing the empty cup into a nearby trash can on her way.

Rachel just stood there in shock, the cold drink finally getting to her as she began to shiver. The only thing she could think of at that moment was that this was karma for the million times she had gotten the jocks to slushy Quinn and Kurt. She gulped and couldn't even bring up the strength to move.

"Rachel?" A soft, yet shocked, voice said, penetrating her thoughts. She didn't turn, instead she waited for the speaker to come in front of her. It was Quinn. "Oh my God! Rachel are you okay?"

"I…I…" Rachel stammered, she couldn't bring out any words.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up, I have some spare clothes you can borrow." Quinn said, grabbing Rachel's hand and leading her into the bathroom while texting Kurt quickly.

"This stuff stings." Rachel said as she began to feel the syrup burn her eyes.

"Yeah, it does." Quinn said with a soft giggle. "Come on let's get it out of your face."

The blonde grabbed a few paper towels, separating them and wetting a few of them. She brought it up to Rachel's face, gently wiping off the cold, sticky liquid.

"Why do you keep helping me?" Rachel muttered.

"I already told you, it's in the past, I don't dwell on the past, I move on." Quinn reminded her, wiping the shorter girl's forehead. They heard the door open gently and Kurt's head popped in.

"Quinn?" he asked, worried, not seeing Rachel as she was blocked by the taller blonde. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine; it's not me that got slushied." Quinn said, turning back to him.

"Who's the poor soul? It's not Tina again is it?" He asked, walking in and up to the two. He saw Rachel there and, well, shocked was an understatement.

"R-Rachel?" He asked. She smiled shyly at him, which slowly disappeared. "A-are you okay sweetheart?"

Rachel looked up at him in shock. She was so rude to this boy, so mean, she had ordered slushies on him for days on end. And now that she was in the same situation, he wasn't crippled over in laughter at her like she had been so many times. He was inquiring if she was okay. Quinn was wiping the sticky syrup off of her face instead of smiling smugly, avenged. She took in a shaky breath and tears began to spill out of her eyes, not because of the stinging sensation in her eyes, but because the love she was feeling from these two was much more than she had ever felt from anyone. Sobs escaped her lips and Quinn pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Shh, it's going to be okay." She whispered comfortingly into her ear. "You're going to be fine sweetheart."

"How can you two be so nice to me? I've been a jerk!" Rachel sobbed into Quinn's chest, enjoying the feeling of being so close to the girl.

"You can't change the past Rachel, you can only choose to dwell on it or move on." Kurt said softly, placing a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder comfortingly.

"I don't deserve all this forgiveness, the only thing I deserve is that slushy Santana threw in my face!" Rachel sobbed again.

"Santana did that? I don't get it, I thought you two were best friends." Quinn said.

"We are, well, we're supposed to be. I don't know, we got into an argument and she got really mad and threw the slushy into my face." Rachel explained, letting out the last few sobs. Quinn rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's okay, she'll cool off, just give her some time." The blonde's soft voice came into her ear in whispers. "come on, let's finish getting you cleaned up, you don't want to be late for class."

Quinn grabbed the dry towels and wiped Rachel's face again, drying it off.

"You're lucky." Kurt hummed. "She didn't seem to get any in your hair, most of it is on your face and clothes."

"The pony tail helps." Quinn muttered. "Keeps the hair out of your face, away from the danger zone."

"There's a danger zone?" Rachel whispered.

"We've been dodging these for a long time, we're kind of experts." Kurt said, giving her a warm smile.

"What Kurt means is, since the slushies are aimed at your face, that's the danger zone, luckily for you Santana seemed more concentrated on danger zone south than danger zone north, that's where the hair gets hit and getting that stuff out of your hair is next to impossible without ruining it." Quinn explained.

"I see." Rachel muttered.

"You'll be okay." Quinn smiled at her.

"I just really need to get out of this uniform. It's sticking to me and I think my skin is having a bad reaction to the syrup." Rachel said, looking down at herself.

"Here's the bag." Kurt said, Handing Quinn a small rucksack. She placed it on the sink counter and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She handed them to Rachel with a smile, who smiled back as she took them and went into one of the stalls to change. She came out a few minutes later and Quinn was stunned. She had her hair down, in all the times she'd seen her Rachel never had her hair down before. She was gorgeous; she didn't think it was possible for anyone to look that amazing in jeans and a t-shirt before but now she was sure if anyone could do it, it was Rachel.

"Umm, I think we have a bit of a problem with the jeans." Rachel said shyly, looking down and brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Huh?" Quinn said, snapping out of her daze. She looked down at the shorter girl's feet and saw that her jeans were too long for her. She couldn't help but giggle. "God you're so short."

"Hey!" Rachel said, smiling up at her.

"I'm kidding…here, I have an idea." Quinn said with another giggle. She kneeled down in front of the brunette and rolled the ends of the jeans legs up. "Rolled up jeans are the really fashionable these days anyway."

"Yeah, I guess so." Rachel said, smiling at the girl who was kneeling in front of her. She shyly took her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled on it nervously. Quinn came back up to face her, she smiled at her and they were stuck gazing at each other for a minute, taking each other in.

Their gaze broke when Kurt cleared his throat.

"Where's your uniform Rachel?" He asked the brunette, who went back inside the stall quickly and came back out with the stained cheerios uniform in her hands. Quinn took it from her and folded it neatly, putting it in the rucksack. She pulled the strings of the bag, closing it. She grabbed it off the counter and handed it to Rachel.

"Keep it in your locker till the end of the day, then go home and make sure you remember to wash it, I fear for your life if Sue sees the stain." She said quietly as the brunette took the rucksack.

"Thank you so much." Rachel said, looking into Quinn's breath-taking hazel eyes for another minute. "B-both of you."

"It's nothing, friends help each other out." Quinn said with a smile.

"You really think of me as a friend?" Rachel asked, looking down shyly again.

"I do." Quinn said with a nod.

"Yeah, me too." Kurt said to her with a smile. Tears stung the brunette's eyes once again, only this time they weren't from embarrassment or syrup. They came because her heart suddenly swelled full of love for the two people that stood before her, the two people who despite everything, were happy to call her a friend. She swallowed, trying to push down the lump that had formed in her throat. Quinn took a step closer to her and pulled her into another tight hug.

"Come on, it's okay." Quinn whispered into her ear. "You want me to walk you home?"

"No, that's okay." Rachel mumbled. "My attendance needs to be at its best, besides, I promised I'd buy you lunch."

"Rach you don't have to-" Quinn began but was cut off.

"Quinn, if it weren't for you I wouldn't have passed that test, and I would have been a blue sticky mess all day. I owe you more than ever now." Rachel said. Quinn couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"Okay fine but only if you sit with us, I'm not having you sit on your own and I wouldn't feel comfortable with you anywhere close to Santana." Quinn said.

"Deal." Rachel said, chuckling softly into Quinn's chest, still wrapped in the taller girl's incredibly strong arms. She took in a deep breath; it was amazing how safe she felt in Quinn's embrace, no one's hugs ever made her feel this safe, except for maybe her dads. It took her a second to realize that she had, probably out of instinct, wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist.

Quinn closed her eyes for a second and took in the scent of the shorter girl's shampoo and the feeling of her hair brushing against her fingers. She loved it, those little intimate things that you would only be able to notice when there is no space between you and the other person. She swallowed, probably audibly. She found all of this just completely intoxicating. A few seconds later they pulled back.

"So I'll see you at lunch then." Rachel said with a smile, a single tear still apparent on her cheek. Before she could stop herself Quinn reached up and wiped it off with her thumb, which made Rachel's smile grow wider. The blonde nodded at her with a smile and she gathered her book bag and the rucksack and walked out of the bathroom. Quinn gulped again and turned around just in time to see the door swing shut. Kurt looked at her.

"You've got it really, really bad." He said. Quinn just took a deep breath.

"What am I going to do?" she asked.

"I don't know sweetie, but you were right. She's not that bad after all." Kurt admitted, smiling at her. "She's actually really sweet."

"Told you." Quinn said, smiling and looking back at the door, biting her lip.

"Okay, float down back to earth, we have class too remember?" Kurt said, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the bathroom, shooing her off to the direction of her class, but not before giving her a hug.

"See you at lunch." Quinn said as he pulled back.

"I'll see you; you'll be staring at Rachel." Kurt teased, earning him a playful shove to the shoulder before they walked away from each other and to class.

Quinn walked into her chemistry class, or rather, snuck in while her teacher was dictating notes and looking outside the window. She sat down in her usual seat and while normally the one next to her would be empty, this time someone snuck off next to her as soon as she sat down. She turned, a little startled, and saw Puck sitting next to her with a smile.

"Hey." He said.

"Umm, hi" She said nervously, confused as why the Mo hawked jock would want to talk to her when normally he barely regarded her existence.

"So, I saw you in Glee club, you know, you're really cute." He said.

"Thanks." She replied slowly, now really confused as to where this conversation was going.

"So I was wondering, uh…Quinn…right?" she nodded. "Well, Quinn, I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me some time."

"That's really sweet Noah-"

"Puck." He corrected.

"That's really sweet Puck, but no thanks." She said softly, giving him an apologetic smile.

"Aww, why not? It's not cause I slushied your friend three weeks ago is it? Cause I'm totally sorry and I'll apologize to him too if you want." He offered.

"Well, yeah that did suck of you and yes you should apologize." She said. "But it's not because of that, honest."

"Well then what is it? Cause you seem like a really nice girl and I really would like to get to know you." He said.

"Thing, I'm…umm…not into guys…you know?" Quinn said shyly.

"What you're a…" he turned looking to see if anyone was eavesdropping and lowered his voice. "You're a lesbian?"

"Yes, and thank you for lowering your voice." Quinn said. She didn't realize how fast her heart was racing, this was the first time she'd come out to anyone besides Kurt.

"Hey it's no problem, you know I totally respect that." He said. "In fact, I'm kind of a supporter."

"Really?" Quinn said, confused. "Then why do you pick on Kurt all the time?"

"Pressure from my idiot friends." He mumbled, looking down at the desk and closing his eyes. "I really don't hate the little guy."

"That's really sweet." Quinn said, and then caught herself. "The not hating Kurt part, not the idiot friends pressuring you part."

"Yeah I know what you mean." He nodded. "So he's your best friend huh?"

"Yeah, he's the best." She said with a smile.

"Hey, you think you'd take me to him? Like help me meet him without him hiding from me? I really do want to apologize to him. And I kind of want to be friends with you guys, you seem really cool." He said, smiling up at the blonde.

"Are you serious?" Quinn asked, her smile widening.

"Hell yeah, I'm sick of picking on kids just cause they're different, I want new friends, friends that don't care about me being a badass…you don't care if I'm a badass do you?" he asked nervously.

"definitely not." She said, shaking her head and smiling.

"Sweet, so, what do you say we have lunch together?" he asked. "You, me and Kurt."

"That would be great." She said, then something hit her memory. "Oh but another friend of ours is going to be there, I think you know her, Rachel?"

"Rachel Berry?" he asked, surprised. "You two are friends?"

"We recently became friends, and I helped her out in a math test which she passed, now she insists on buying me lunch to thank me." Quinn explained.

"That is really cool, you helped her pass math?" he asked, impressed.

"It was nothing, I just explained stuff she found complicated." Quinn dismissed.

"So…everything?" Puck said, raising his eyebrows and chuckling.

"Almost? Okay yeah everything, but the important thing is that she passed. She studied a bit on her own too so it wasn't all me." Quinn said.

"That's cool, but, doesn't she usually hang out with Santana and Brittany?" he asked.

"She and Santana had an argument, didn't end so well." Quinn said, taking down the chemical equations which were written down on the board.

"Is that why I saw her walking past the class in normal clothes? I was shocked, I didn't even believe it was her." Puck said.

"Yeah, I let her borrow my spare clothes, Santana slushied her." Quinn explained.

"Harsh." Puck grimaced. "Good thing you were there to help."

"Hey aren't you and Santana dating or something?" Quinn asked.

"It was just one date, followed by a few booty calls, nothing serious though, you can't tie the Puckasourus down." He said proudly. Quinn giggled.

"Puckasourus?" she said with a hitched eye brow, still laughing. He nodded with his eyebrows raised proudly.

Third and fourth period passed without a hitch. By the time Chemistry class was over, Puck and Quinn had exchanged numbers and Quinn had promised to text him when she was out of fourth period and meet him outside the cafeteria. She texted Kurt and Rachel with the same plane and they all agreed. Quinn stood outside the cafeteria when Kurt arrived, hugging her.

"Hey, how was third and fourth period." He asked.

"Third was pretty good actually, fourth is always bore." Quinn said as he pulled back. Kurt's eyes bulged when he saw Puck coming up behind her. He gulped, suddenly remembering the bad double slushy facial he had received from the taller boy three weeks ago. To his shock, Puck put his arm around Quinn.

"Hey bro." he said, fist bumping her.

"Hey." She replied. Then looked at Kurt and then back to Puck. "Ready?"

Puck nodded, unwrapped his arm from around Quinn's shoulder and took a step closer to Kurt.

"Hey Kurt." He said with a sincere smile at the shorter boy.

"Hello Noah." Kurt smiled nervously, yet he was curious as to why the taller boy was just standing in front of him and not proudly hovering over him as he does usually.

"Call me Puck." The Mo hawked boy said in a friendly manner, then he cleared his throat. "Listen, I just, uh… I wanted to apologize."

"F-for what?" Kurt stammered, surprised.

"For being kind of a jerk to you." Puck said. "Or rather, a big jerk to you."

Kurt took in a deep breath and stared at the taller boy for a second.

"I know, I should have never done any of that crap in the first place. I never should have let my friends pressure me into all that. And I don't hate you for being gay, I'm actually proud of you, you're brave enough to be the only out gay guy in this school despite the fact that you get treated like shit because of it." Puck said, causing Kurt's ego to swell just a bit. "And I promise, from now on, no more slushies from me, hell in fact I'll even protect you. I want to be your friend."

Kurt's eyes bulged again, and his smile turned from nervous, to flattered, to sincere in seconds.

"Well, in that case. Apology accepted." He said, still smiling at the taller boy, who was too shy to look him in the eye up until this moment. Puck held out his hand.

"Friends?" he said with a smile.

"Yes, but I'm not shaking your hand." Kurt said.

"Oh, I get it." Puck said looking back to the ground, shame rolled over him once more.

"Because I don't shake my friends' hands Puck, I hug them." The shorter boy said, the opened up his arms. "Come here."

Puck smiled widely and hugged the smaller boy tightly. Kurt smiled at Quinn over Puck's shoulder, who smiled back happily. She stepped up next to the two boys, who separated and smiled at each other.

"I'm proud of both of you!" She said, smiling at her best friend and their new friend. Puck put a hand on her shoulder and Kurt hugged her from the side.

"It's all thanks to you Q." Puck said with a smile.

"What amazing thing did Quinn do this time?" A voice was heard. They all looked over and saw Rachel standing there, smiling at the sight of the three. "Hey Puck."

"Hey Rachel." He said with a smile.

"Rachel, to answer your question, these two just became friends." Quinn smiled happily at both boys once again.

"With your help." Kurt chimed in. "I'm pretty sure if I saw him coming without him greeting you first I would have run away in fear."

"Well you won't have to do that anymore, you're my little bud now!" Puck said, putting a hand on Kurt's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Wow, Quinn, you never cease to amaze me." Rachel said, smiling up at the blonde.

"Oh please." Quinn dismissed. "it was Puck who came up to me."

"To ask you out, I had no idea you were gay." He said. She gulped and looked over to Rachel for her reaction.

"You're gay?" She asked the blonde.

"Uh…yeah." Quinn smiled nervously.

"Quinn, relax, I think it's awesome." Rachel said, smiling at the blonde again. She quickly closed up the space in between them and took the taller girl into a warm embrace. "You're my friend, I wouldn't care if you turned into a werewolf or were a vampire, and I'd still accept you no matter what."

"Really?" Quinn said, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat.

"Yes. I mean, you forgave me and accepted me as your friend despite me being a bitch to you, what makes you think I wouldn't accept you because of your sexuality?" Rachel said.

"I…I don't know." Tears escaped the blonde's eyes as she smiled, hugging the shorter girl who still held her tightly. She felt a hand go to her back soothingly, too small to be Puck's or Kurt's. After a minute Rachel pulled away.

"Come on, let's go eat, I'm starving!" She said, then looked up to Quinn's eyes and saw her crying. Her hands went up to the blonde's cheeks and her thumbs wiped away the tears as Quinn had done just over two hours ago.

"Everything's going to be okay." The brunette whispered to Quinn. Kurt and Puck had already started walking into the cafeteria. Rachel pushed herself up on her toes and gave Quinn a soft kiss on the cheek, right in the same spot where she had kissed her earlier. Quinn's smile grew wider as she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Thankfully Rachel had walked away before she saw it. Quinn turned around and watched the beautiful brunette walk into the cafeteria. She looked her up and down, from her hair which fell beautifully over her shoulders and back, then down her back and then-

_Oh God. That ass._

**_She looks damned good in your jeans._**

_Shut up. Don't look at her ass don't- oh God dammit._

**_Hot damn._**

_Do not get an erection. You have to follow her. You have to sit with her during lunch._

**_Admit it; you'd tap that in a heartbeat if you could._**

Quinn shut her eyes tightly, desperately trying to control the twitching of her extra appendage. Thankfully her jeans were too tight for them to tent up; but the pressure made walking a living nightmare as the friction felt oh so good. She took a deep breath and began to walk, counting numbers in her head, mentally giving herself directions to how to get to the food line, reciting the alphabet. Anything, just anything to get her mind off of how painfully hard she was at the moment. It didn't help that Rachel turned to her and licked her lips before she smiled.

_Why did she have to lick her lips? Oh God!_

**_That girl has the hottest mouth ever._**

_That doesn't even make sense._

**_I bet it would if your dick was in-_**

_Shut up and get out of my head!_

**_Dude, this is still you talking here, just the dirty part of you which you refuse to let out._**

_Well gee, I wonder why that is._

**_Dude, her lips are moving, she's saying something._**

_Huh?_

"-Quinn, hello? Are you okay in there?" Rachel's voice faded in.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, fine." Quinn said.

"You sure? You looked lost for a minute." Rachel said, and eyebrow raised.

"I'm fine, don't worry, I just have this annoying voice in my head that won't shut up." Quinn said with a chuckle.

**_Who you calling annoying?_**

"You're funny." Rachel giggled. She walked up to the trays and grabbed two handing one to Quinn.

"Thanks." Quinn said softly as she took the tray. They walked up to the lunch line and Quinn got her normal lunch. A can of her favorite juice, the pasta dish of the day and chocolate pudding for dessert. She was about to reach for the very last cup of chocolate pudding when her hand came into contact with a smaller one and she looked over at Rachel, who smiled, biting her lip gently.

"You take it." Quinn smiled at her.

"No, you take it." Rachel offered back. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Rach." She said, giving her a look which meant no words were necessary.

"Fine, how about we share it?" Rachel offered, smiling at the blonde.

"Fine." Quinn smiled back.

"Oh aren't you two the sweetest couple I've ever seen." Millie Rose, the lunch lady, chimed in. The two girls giggled.

"That's sweet Mrs. Rose, but we're just friends." Quinn said to the lunch lady who she knew to be very nice. Quinn remembered the first time she had gotten slushied, Mrs. Rose had told her how to get the stain out of her clothes quickly so that she could get on with the rest of the day. She had also wiped her tears and told her that she had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Quinn had confided her secret with her and Millie had always been there when she needed it.

"Yeah, we're just good friends." Rachel agreed.

"Of course, don't mind me." Millie waved off with a smile at Rachel and a wink at Quinn which only the blonde saw, which sent blood rushing to her cheeks. Yes, Millie knew about her crush as well. Quinn moved over to the register behind Rachel. She instinctively reached into her pocket to pull out a five dollar bill when Rachel grabbed her wrist.

"No way, I told you, it's on me." Rachel reminded her.

"Oh, right, sorry, force of habit." Quinn smiled at her.

"I'm sure." Rachel said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the now giggling girl. The brunette pulled her purse out of her shoulder bag and pulled out a ten dollar bill, handed to the cashier and collected her change. They walked over to the table where Kurt and Puck were already eating and chatting away like they didn't _just_ become friends. The two girls slipped into the bench at the table, each sitting next to one of the boys.

"What are you two talking about?" Quinn asked, opening up her juice and taking a sip.

"Hair products." Puck and Kurt said in unison, which earned both of them a raised eye brow from both girls. Puck looked at the two of them.

"What? A Mo hawk needs a lot of upkeep!" he defended.

"Hey, we don't judge." Quinn raised her hands innocently while Rachel giggled. Puck rolled his eyes at them.

"So how often do you wash it?" Kurt asked.

"Once a week, my barber says I don't need to risk any hair loss since there isn't that much." Puck answered.

"Do you condition?" the smaller boy asked.

"Of course, how else do you think I keep it so shiny and silky smooth?" Puck said with a smile.

"Floor wax?" Quinn mumbled under her breath, though Rachel heard her and burst out laughing. Puck looked at the brunette confused.

"What's so funny?" he asked, genuinely confused as to why she was laughing.

"Nothing." Quinn said, clapping a hand over her mouth before bursting out laughing herself.

"Dude, you are so lucky, girls are so weird." He shook his head with a chuckle and looked up at Kurt who giggled in response.

"We are not weird." Rachel said, still giggling.

"Yeah, we're awesome." Quinn shrugged, lifting her hand up to Rachel, who slapped the palm with her own. Puck rolled his eyes and chuckled again and sighed.

"Ladies and gents, I think this is the beginning of a long a b-e-a-Utiful friendship!" he announced, lifting up his can of soda. "To us!"

"To us!" the three chanted in unison, raising their drinks and bumping the containers together before taking a sip.

They ate as they chatted, teased each other and laughed.

"Hey Q, no chocolate pudding?" Kurt asked.

"We're sharing the last one" She said, gesturing to Rachel who lifted up the cup and waved it.

"Because someone refused to take it even though I said it was totally okay." Rachel poked. Quinn smiled at her and stuck out her tongue teasingly. Rachel reached over for her spoon and held it up at her as if she were threatening her with it.

"What are you gonna do, spoon me?" Quinn teased.

"I just might!" Rachel said with a giggle.

"Can I watch?" Puck said, wiggling his eye brows suggestively. They both looked at him confused for a second before the realization hit them.

"Oh." They both said in unison, bursting out in giggles.

"Just eat your pudding you two, we have like, ten minutes left." Kurt said, looking at his wrist watch.

"You do, I have a free period." Quinn teased.

"Oh cool me too, you wanna hang out?" Puck said.

"Sure." Quinn said.

"Pudding being opened." Rachel warned, catching Quinn's attention who smiled at her. "You wanna lick the lid?"

"Nah." Quinn crinkled her nose and smiled.

"Your loss." Rachel shrugged. "I get more of the cream at the top!"

"I prefer the chocolate part actually." Quinn giggled as she watched Rachel's tongue slip out of her mouth and lick off the cream from the lid. She didn't realize how hot the action would be until it was too late and she felt her member twitch once again in her jeans. She watched as Rachel finished off the lid, dropping the now clean foil onto her tray. She handed Quinn a spoon but the other girl just stared at her.

"Quinn you okay?" Rachel asked, snapping the blonde out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah." Quinn said, taking the spoon out of the brunette's hand gently. "I'm fine."

"You sure? You keep phasing out? Is that voice talking to you again?" Rachel asked with a giggle.

"Something like that." Quinn mumbled. Rachel tipped the cup over to her to let her have the first spoonful, to which she obliged. Rachel took the second, putting the spoonful in her mouth.

"mmh." She said, rolling her eyes to the back of her head. "I never get over how amazing this tastes."

Quinn took a deep breath and smiled at the brunette, trying to ignore the throbbing sensation in her jeans. They ate the rest of the desert in silence, smiling at each other every now and again. They came to the end of the cup and there was only enough left for one last spoonful.

"You want the last bite?" Quinn asked.

"You have it." Rachel offered.

"You sure." Quinn asked.

"Are we really doing this again?" Rachel asked.

"I just want to be sure." Quinn said with a smile.

"Oh my God!" Rachel said. She grabbed the cup and scooped up the last spoonful. "Open your mouth!"

"Wha-Mmf" Quinn began, but at the first opportunity Rachel shoved the spoonful of chocolate pudding into her mouth.

"There, taste good?" Rachel asked sarcastically, pulling the spoon out of Quinn's mouth and leaving the creamy chocolate to land onto her tongue. Quinn's shoulders shook as she tried not to burst out laughing.

"That…" she mumbled with her teeth closed. She lifted up a finger for a pause and swallowed the mouthful of pudding. "That was actually the best spoonful of pudding ever; it tastes a lot better when it's shoved into your mouth."

"That's what she said." Kurt and Rachel said in unison. Puck and Quinn burst out laughing as the two looked at each other and high fived each other before giggling along.

The bell rang and the four of them walked out of the cafeteria together, stopping at the entrance where they would be separates from each other.

"This was really fun." Rachel said.

"Yeah! Hey same time tomorrow?" Puck suggested.

"As long as a certain someone doesn't shove pudding filled cutlery into my mouth." Quinn said looking at Rachel.

"Oh please, you loved it!" The brunette said, giving the blonde a playful wink. Quinn giggled and tried to hide her blushing, biting her lip.

"I think what they mean is yes." Kurt chimed in.

"Sweet!" Puck said. He opened his arms out to the smaller boy, who gladly welcomed Puck's tight embrace. "I'll see you later buddy!"

"See you." Kurt said warmly as they pulled back. Puck gestured to Rachel who accepted his hug as Quinn hugged Kurt happily. Then Rachel pulled back from Puck just as Quinn did the same from Kurt and the smaller brunette pulled the blonde into a tight embrace, her arms wrapping themselves around her neck and her toes stretching to make up for the height difference.

"Thank you so much for everything today, I mean it, I really needed it." The shorter girl whispered into Quinn's ear.

"What are friends for?" Quinn asked rhetorically, squeezing her arms around the girl one more time before they pulled away from each other with a smile, staring at each other for a few seconds

"Okay so we'll see you guys later." Puck said, breaking the silence. "Hey Q, you wanna go shoot some hoops out by the trash cans?"

"There's a Basketball hoop back there?" Quinn asked.

"Hell yeah!" Puck confirmed.

"Sweet, let's go!" Quinn said, high fiving the Mo hawked boy.

"Have fun guys." Kurt said.

"Yeah, just don't hurt yourselves!" Rachel warned. The two brunettes walked in the other direction, still chatting in the distance between them and Kurt's locker.

* * *

**A/N: There you go! I hope you enjoyed it! Please don't forget to review, I love it so much when I get feedback from you guys it is really uplifting! It makes me want to never stop writing!**

**Thanks again :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello my lovely readers!**

**Firstly: I LOVE YOU ALL AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR AWESOME FEEDBACK AND I'M SENDING YOU ALL A BUNCH OF LOVE AND HUGS AND CUDDLES. **

***ahem***

**Secondly: I hope you like the story so far! This chapter was originally meant to be much ****_much _****longer, but then I realized I pulled over 13,000 words into it and I probably had another 13K in the next one so I thought 'hey let's use our brains for once shall we?'**

**so yeah...really long chapter, enjoy :)**

**Also: Prepare for a bunch of fluff and laughter. **

* * *

Puck and Quinn were outside. Puck was dribbling the ball around and showing off.

"Try not to get too intimidated, I'm pretty good at this." Puck said, giving a playful wink to the blonde. She smirked at him.

"I'll try." She said sarcastically. Puck dribbled the ball around some more, from one hand to the other, then ran up to the hoop and attempted a shot, but missed.

"My turn." The blonde said, she sauntered over to Puck, grabbed the ball from his hands and started dribbling, on the spot at first, then she began to move, switching hands, dribbling the ball around her and under her legs five times in a row without fail, then she dribbled with her right, running up to the hoop, jumped and dunked it. Puck stared in awe.

"Woah!" he exclaimed. "Where'd you learn to play like that?"

"My brother and I always used to play before he moved off to college." Quinn said with a smile.

"Wait! What's your last name again?" Puck asked.

"Fabray." Quinn reminded him. He looked at her like she just told him she could read minds or fly or something.

"No way!" He exclaimed.

"What?" Quinn asked him.

"Your brother is Charlie Fabray? THE Charlie Fabray?" He asked.

"Well, his name is Charlie, why?" Quinn asked.

"Dude your brother's a legend here! He used to be captain of the basketball team, he was the best player ever!" Puck told her. "Come on!"

"What the!" Quinn said as Puck grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him. He lead her back into the school and they jogged through the hallway to a trophy case and Puck pointed to a couple of framed pictures. It was the McKinley high basketball team in a group photo, and next to it a picture of a blonde haired boy. Charlie.

"Is that him?" Puck asked.

"Yeah." Quinn answered with a smile and a nod.

"Dude, that is so cool!" Puck said.

"I knew he used to be on the team, but I had no clue he was this popular." Quinn said.

"He is a legend at this school, everyone on the team aspires to be him." Puck said. "Only difference is, we suck! We haven't won a game since your brother graduated."

"That sucks man." She said, her shoulders slumped and her hands in her pockets.

"We practice all the time, but there just isn't that Fabray touch." Puck said, Quinn shrugged and then Puck snapped his finger. "I got it!"

"Got what?" Quinn asked.

"You should try out for the team!" Puck said excitedly.

"What? Me? Hell no." Quinn dismissed.

"Come on dude, you said your brother thought you everything you know right? Well you're amazing! That move you pulled out there was better than anything I've seen from my team mates all of last season!" Puck said.

"I'm not as good as Charlie, besides, a girl on the team?" Quinn asked rhetorically.

"That doesn't matter man!" Puck said. "Coach Beiste will be thrilled to have a girl try out, besides it's not your gender it's what you can do!"

"I don't know Puck I mean-" Quinn began.

"I mean nothing! You're good, that's all that matters!" Puck cut her off. "Come on, just try out, worst case scenario, you don't get picked, best case scenario, you get picked and let the Fabray legacy live on!"

"I guess it would be pretty cool to keep up the namesake huh?" Quinn said, considering it.

"Hell yeah! Plus, you'd be a jock! No one would mess with you or Kurt ever again! The minute you put on that letterman jacket you'll be revered in this school!" Puck encouraged. "And you'll totally have a shot with Rachel!"

"What?!" Quinn snapped, shocked.

"Oh come on, don't pretend you don't have the hots for her!" Puck said. "I could see it in your eyes, you nearly flooded the freakin' cafeteria when she was licking that pudding lid!"

Quinn blushed and looked down. "Is it that obvious?"

"To me it is, not so much to her, though she does seem pretty comfortable around you, I mean I totally saw the way she kissed you on the cheek." Puck said.

"You saw that?!" Quinn gaped.

"I did, and I also saw the way she looked into your eyes when she hugged you outside the cafeteria after lunch." The Mo hawked boy continued. Quinn took in a deep breath.

"Okay. I'll try out for the team, but I doubt coach Beiste is going to pick me." Quinn said.

"Dude, you're good, even if you weren't a Fabray you'd have a shot!" Puck encouraged her again. "Besides, the team's current captain is going to graduate soon, and so are three other guys, we need as many people as we can get."

"Okay. So when are try outs?" Quinn asked, taking a deep breath.

"Monday after school." Puck said. Quinn nodded. "Come on, let's get back out there, we've got forty five minutes left and you need to practice."

"Let's do it!" Quinn smiled up at him. Puck held out his hand and Quinn clapped it. They jogged out back to the hoop and practiced until the rest of the hour passed and they had to go to class.

Thursday rolled by smoothly. Rachel was surprised to see that Santana still came to Glee club and everyone was surprised to see that Rachel, Puck, Kurt and Quinn were all sitting together and laughing as if they had been best friends all their lives; but they thought nothing of it, of course people would be surprised to see them hanging out until they got used to it. Santana shot Puck a few dirty looks when she saw that he was hanging out with Rachel and the dweebs instead of with her. But she shrugged after a bit and let it go, she didn't really like him anyway, she just wanted the rumor that they're dating so that she would be revered more than she already was.

The weekend came by sooner than expected, but Quinn probably saw it that way because she had just about the best week ever. Pretty soon it was 1PM on Saturday and she was knocking on Rachel's door. She waited a few seconds and the door swung open, revealing Rachel standing there with a smile.

"Hey." Quinn said with a smile.

"Hey." Rachel said. "Right on time, why am I not surprised?"

"It's rude to be late." Quinn shrugged as Rachel waved her into the house. The blonde followed the brunette into the kitchen. She saw a pot on the stove and figure Rachel was still making lunch. She smelt the scent of pasta sauce being cooked and took a whiff. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she let out a soft moan.

"That smells amazing." She breathed out.

"Thanks." Rachel said with a giggle.

"Do you need help with anything?" Quinn asked.

"No, it's fine, you just sit there, do you want anything to drink?" Rachel asked, walking over to the fridge.

"Uhm, just some water would be fine." Quinn said. Rachel pulled out a small bottle of water from the fridge and handed it over to the blonde. "Thanks."

"So." Rachel began with a deep breath. "Crazy week huh?"

"Pretty much." Quinn said with a giggle. "But hey, we formed awesome friendships."

"Yeah that's true." Rachel smiled at the blonde before turning back to stirring the sauce. "What was the deal with Kurt and Puck anyway?"

"Oh, well, after Kurt and I helped you clean up on Wednesday, I snuck into my chemistry class. Puck slid up next to me and asked me out. I said no, he asked why and though it was because he slushied Kurt really badly three weeks before."

"Oh yeah." Rachel said softly, then with a sad sigh added. "Santana was laughing about it all day."

"Well, Puck wanted to apologize for it, so I agreed to help him meet up with Kurt during lunch, and the rest is history." Quinn said, shrugging at the last part.

"And the rest ends with me shoving a pudding filled spoon in your mouth." Rachel giggled. Quinn giggled too, smiling up at the girl.

"That was hilarious." Quinn mumbled, opening up the water bottle and taking a sip.

"No, what was hilarious was Puck's face full of pasta sauce the next day." Rachel giggled. "How did that happen again?"

"He flicked a pea at me, I flicked a spoon full of sauce at him." Quinn explained, laughing out.

"No one messes with you Fabray." Rachel poked.

"Damn skippy." Quinn said, still laughing.

"Gosh, Wednesday did turn out to be an amazing day huh?" Rachel said with a sigh. "The minute that slushy hit my face I thought it was the beginning of the end, turns out it was only the start of something awesome!"

"Why did she slushy you anyway? I mean I know you two had an argument but, what happened?" Quinn asked. Rachel took a deep breath and hesitated for a minute. "If you don't want to talk about it that's okay."

"No, it's okay, umm, we actually argued because she saw me looking back at you in English that day and she asked me why and I told her about the test and everything, and she called you a dweeb and I just, I got so angry at her for calling you that, she doesn't even know you, I said she was closed-minded and well, I told her I wanted to be friends with you and that I hated how everyone in this school judged you if you weren't a jock or if you were just a little bit different." Rachel took a deep breath and went on. "She said that if I wanted to defend the losers that I could join them, then she grabbed the cup out of someone's hand and slushied me."

Quinn stared at the girl's back in awe. She could feel the faint stinging of tears on the brim of her eyes. Rachel turned to her and saw her staring back at her.

"You okay?" she asked. Quinn swallowed at the lump that formed in her throat and nodded, smiling at her. "You sure?"

"I'm sure." Quinn said faintly, pushing back a sob. She got up off her seat and walked around the island counter to Rachel and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl.

"Okay what's this hug for?" Rachel said, Quinn could hear the smile in her voice.

"No one's ever defended me or Kurt like that before." Quinn said, a sob escaping her lips. Rachel giggled softly and wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck.

"Shh, it's gonna be okay." She whispered into the taller girl's ear. "From now on you two will have me and Puck to defend and support you whenever you need it. Okay?"

Rachel pulled back to look at the taller girl. Tears were streaming down her face as she nodded. Rachel smiled up at her and lifted her hands, cupping the blonde's cheeks and wiping her tears away with her thumbs.

"Thank you." Quinn breathed out. Rachel nodded at her gently, still smiling at her.

"There's nothing to thank me for Quinn, I'm your friend now." The brunette said, taking Quinn's hands in hers and squeezing them comfortingly. "If anyone talks badly about you they will be getting the full Berry rant. And a million slushies won't get me to stop defending you."

"D-d-do you really mean that?" Quinn stammered, forcing the words out. What she heard was incredible and she just couldn't believe it.

"Hell yeah I do." Rachel said with a smile, stating it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're my friend Quinn, and I'm going to do everything I can to redeem myself after treating you like I did. You may say it's all in the past but I still feel guilty, I know Puck does too."

"Did he tell you that?" Quinn asked.

"He did, actually, on Thursday." Rachel said with a nod. "We were the first ones outside the cafeteria that day during lunch remember?"

"Yeah Mr. Schue always lets our Spanish class run a little late cause it never starts on time." Quinn said softly, looking down at the ground.

"I swear, we need to buy that man a watch for Christmas." Rachel said rolling her eyes, then smiling at the blonde. She put a hand on her shoulder. "So from now on, you're never going to feel like a loser, got it? I simply won't let you."

Quinn giggled at the smaller girl's assertiveness.

"Okay, deal." Quinn said with a nod. Rachel's smile grew wider, into a full on grin, and she hugged the taller girl again. They stood in each other's arms for a second until they heard the pot bubbling. Rachel turned over to it and quickly lowered the heat, removing the lid and stirring the pasta with a wooden spoon.

"So, what did you make anyway? That sauce smells delicious." Quinn asked.

"Pasta and the sauce is one of my dad's homemade recipes." Rachel said. She lifted the lid off of the saucer and picked some of its contents up with a small spoon. She put her hand underneath the spoon to stop any from dripping on the floor and lifted the spoon up to Quinn's mouth. Quinn smiled and opened her mouth, letting Rachel feed her some of the sauce. She closed her mouth around the spoon and let the sauce settle on her tongue, savoring the flavor before swallowing it.

"Wow, that is amazing." Quinn said with a smile. "What's in it?"

"Well it's tomato sauce, there's garlic in it, umm, oregano, black olives and spring onion." Rachel said, mentally checking off each ingredient. "It's nothing special, just one of my dad's famous concoctions."

"It tastes really good." Quinn said. "I mean, my mom isn't a bad cook, it's just she's so used to using ready-made sauces."

"We try to avoid those actually, my dad and I are both vegans and we're always worried there's some hidden ingredient. Plus those preservatives are just down right unhealthy." Rachel muttered, focusing on her cooking. She picked up one of the pieces of pasta from the pot, blew on it and bit a piece off. Chewing it to see if it was fully cooked. She nodded to herself and at the rest of the piece, then turned off the flame completely and opened a cabinet, pulling out a strainer and putting it in the sink. She grabbed the oven mitts off of a hook on the wall next to the stove and grabbed the pots handles, taking it over to the sink and tilting the pasta into the strainer, draining all the water away. Quinn watched at how smoothly the girl moved, like she'd been doing this all her life and it was just second nature to her, like walking, or breathing even.

"Do you cook often?" Quinn found herself asking.

"Yeah actually, my dad loves to bake, and I've been helping him ever since I can remember. Plus they're both doctors, and it's not the first time they've got some conference or seminar over the weekend. It's very common to find me home alone on a Saturday, and my dad wouldn't let me stay here without a baby sitter until he knew I could cook with my one hand tied behind my back, blindfolded and balancing a fish bowl on my head." Rachel explained, giggling at herself at the last part.

"He didn't actually make you do all that stuff while trying to strain spaghetti did he?" Quinn asked her face stone cold serious.

"I'm kidding Quinn!" Rachel laughed out. Quinn's serious demeanor broke and she started laughing.

"Good, because I suddenly started getting visions of your dad being some army sergeant or something." Quinn said.

"No, my dad's a big softie actually, my daddy Leroy, he can be tough sometimes, but only when he needs to be." Rachel explained.

"So what's it like having two dads?" Quinn asked.

"Pretty normal, only you do have some moments when you wish you had a mom around. God knows how awkward it was when I got my first period, you know?" Rachel said looking at Quinn, who was looking down at the ground. She nodded out of instinct, but of course she had no clue, she was born with a penis. She never had periods and had no idea what it felt like to have cramps. She knew it sucked and it made girls angry all the time but she was as well versed in them as any other boy. But Rachel couldn't know that now could she?

"But other than that it's pretty much the same as having a mom and a dad." Rachel shrugged.

"Do you know who your mom is though?" Quinn asked, not sure why she was suddenly so curious.

"I know her name, and I've seen her picture, but I've never met her. I hope I do some day, but it's not that important in my life right now." Rachel shrugged once more. "It's funny, having to gay dads in a town like this, I didn't think I would be the popular one, I was always afraid of what people might say about them, but it's never really been an issue."

"People will surprise you sometimes, I mean hey, look at you and Puck." Quinn said, flashing a smile to the brunette.

"That's true." Rachel smiled back, nodding in agreement.

"So do you look like her?" Quinn asked.

"Like who?" Rachel raised an eye brow.

"Like your mom." Quinn said. Rachel took a deep breath and furrowed her eyebrows in though. Though this went misinterpreted by Quinn. "Sorry I'm asking, I should probably shut up."

"No, Quinn it's okay, we're getting to know each other, its fine, I really don't mind." Rachel reassured the blonde. "To be honest, I can't tell, she's really pretty though; do you want to see her picture?"

"Umm, sure." Quinn said, surprised that Rachel would actually let her see it.

"Come on." Rachel said, grabbing Quinn's hand gently and leading her up to her room. Quinn stood still on one spot just a few steps into the door and looked around Rachel's room. Somehow the pink wasn't a surprise, but it was mixed with a soft yellow. It looked like a really cheerful place and Quinn could picture herself sitting on the yellow blanket with Rachel talking about stuff all night as their friendship progressed. Rachel had walked over to her desk and opened the top drawer. She pulled out a picture of a brunette woman holding a baby while in a hospital bed.

"That's her." Rachel said softly as she handed Quinn the picture. The blonde took the polaroid gently into her hand and looked at it for a moment, a small smile creeping across her face.

"Is that you she's holding?" was the first thing Quinn said.

"Yeah." Rachel barely whispered. She was smiling as well.

"You were so cute as a baby." Quinn said with a soft giggle. She glanced up at Rachel and then back down at the picture. "And yeah, you're a spitting image."

"You really think so?" Rachel smiled.

"I do." Quinn nodded and looked up at her again, handing her back the picture. "This is a really sweet picture, you should frame it."

"I want to, but I can never find a frame small enough for a Polaroid." Rachel said with a sad shrug. She took the picture back and put it back in her drawer where it was safe. She looked back up at Quinn. "So, let's go eat, before the pasta gets cold."

"I'm dying to have some more of that sauce." Quinn said as she turned to walk out of Rachel's bedroom, the small brunette following her as they went down into the kitchen. They set up the table together while they chatted.

"So, you know about my family, tell me about yours." Rachel said. Quinn shrugged.

"There's not that much tell really, just your average rich family, I have an older brother who's off at college, a mom who doesn't work and a dad that owns his own company and made a fortune." Quinn said.

"What kind of company is it?" Rachel asked.

"Construction, he's an architect, owns the whole firm." Quinn said.

"That's amazing." Rachel said. "Wait, you have a brother?"

"Yeah I do." Quinn nodded with a smile, sensing where this is going.

"Fabray…" Rachel muttered. "Your brother wouldn't be Charlie Fabray would he?"

"Yep, that's him." Quinn nodded.

_I so knew it would go this way._

**_Dude, she's so going to want a piece of that now._**

_Eww, if I have sex with her I want it to be because she finds me hot not because she likes my brother, that's just disturbing._

**_Beggars can't be choosers._**

_Screw you, I'm hot._

"Well, clearly the school doesn't know, because there's no way they would mess with you if they did." Rachel said.

"I really don't care, I'm glad I don't have to live in my brother's shadow all the time." Quinn shrugged.

"Can you play basketball as well as he can?" Rachel asked as she placed two plates full of sauce covered pasta on the table.

"I don't know, Puck says I'm good." Quinn shrugged. "Charlie thought me everything I know so maybe."

"Have you ever thought of trying out-" Rachel began.

"For the basketball team?" Quinn finished for her with a giggle. Rachel nodded with a smile. "Yes, actually, I'm going to the try outs tomorrow after school.

"When did you decide to do it?" Rachel asked.

"Last Wednesday actually, Puck convinced me after I totally kicked his ass while we were playing out by the dumpsters." Quinn said, giggling at the last part. "He kind of figured out that Charlie was my brother and then convinced me."

"And you didn't tell us because?" Rachel said, looking up at her with a smile.

"I knew you guys would be super supportive, I didn't want you guys to be disappointed when I didn't get picked." Quinn said looking down at her food and picking at it with her fork. Rachel grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Quinn. What in the world makes you think you're not going to get picked?" Rachel asked. Quinn shrugged.

"I'm a girl, everyone on that team is a guy." Quinn said.

"Quinn, the guys on that team suck. The only good one that was ever on that team was a Fabray." Rachel said.

"But a Fabray that was a guy." Quinn argued. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"The coach is a woman as well. If anyone should know not to judge by gender, it's her!" Rachel said. Quinn took in a deep breath, deep down she knew her brown eyed friend was right. "Promise me you'll still go to the try outs."

"I promise, I already promised Puck, so promising you will only solidify it just a bit more." Quinn smirked up at the girl.

"Good, now promise me you'll give it your all." Rachel said with a smile, somehow knowing that that was not part of her and Puck's deal. Quinn took another deep breath, only confirming Rachel's suspicions.

"Okay. I promise." Quinn nodded.

"Good." Rachel squeezed her hand again. "And I promise that I will be there to support you, just as I know Puck and Kurt will. We'll be your own personal cheerleaders."

"Okay now I'm getting mental images of Puck and Kurt in the cheerio's skirts." Quinn cringed and giggled.

"Oh God!" Rachel said, covering her eyes as if to avoid the image. She giggled. "Now that I think about it Kurt might actually pull it off better than I do."

"No one can pull off that cheerio's skirt better than you do." Quinn said before even realizing it.

"You really think so." Rachel asked.

"Hell yeah, you are damned hot in that uniform." Quinn said, again without even noticing it. Rachel looked down at her food and blushed.

_See, this is why I don't let you out, now she thinks I'm a creep._

**_Dude, blushing is good, it means she's flattered._**

_I am not taking my dating tips from a voice inside my head._

**_Yeah, about that, don't you think it's just a little crazy that you have a voice inside your head._**

_You telling me that confirms that I'm not crazy, crazy people never doubt their sanity._

**_Whatever you say, dr. not-so-do-little._**

_That doesn't even make any sense._

**_Dude, she's talking again._**

_What?!_

**_Her lips are moving and words are coming out!_**

_Oh, right!_

"…really think that Quinn?" she caught.

"Huh? Oh yeah, definitely." Quinn nodded, not sure what she was agreeing to, but feeling sure they were still on the same subject. She picked up four pieces of pasta at once and shoved them into her mouth before the thoughts that were swimming in her mind escaped again.

_You'd look hot in anything._

**_You'd look even hotter in nothing at all._**

_Focus on your damned pasta Fabray, damn this sauce is good._

**_Might taste better licking it off of her._**

_That just sounds messy._

**_You like it dirty._**

_I am never letting you out of my head ever again._

**_Aww, why you gotta ruin the fun?_**

_Maybe because you-_

**_She's talking again._**

_FUCK!_

"…being told that I look good, it's always coming from guys so I always assume their hitting on me." Rachel shrugged.

"So you just assume I'm not hitting on you then?" Quinn asked, then shoved her tongue between her teeth and bit down, hard.

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!_

**_Relax, she's giggling._**

"Well, are you?" Rachel giggled out.

"Maybe." Quinn said and gave a playful wink.

_You're dead to me._

**_I'm in your head, unless your brain dies I can't die._**

_Fine, I'm ignoring you from now on._

Quinn pushed herself out of her thoughts and watched as Rachel giggled. Her laugh was music to the blonde's ears. She smiled at the brunette and then went back to her food.

About half an hour later they were in Rachel's room working on their assignment.

"So what poems should we compare?" Rachel said, opening up Google and typing "Famous love poems" into the search bar.

"I was thinking something by Shakespeare and then compare it to another poem that's maybe more modern?" Quinn said, pulling out her note pad and flipping to the pages she marked. Her notes from English. "I took some notes in class, they might help."

"Good, because Santana never shut up during that lesson, and let's face it Kurt was just as bad these past two days." Rachel said, Quinn giggled and handed her the note pad.

"Feel free to copy whatever you need." The blonde said, patting Rachel on the shoulder.

"Thanks." Rachel giggled. Quinn looked over to the computer and saw a list of love poems by Shakespeare.

"How about this one?" Quinn pointed to the screen at the title 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day'

"Is that cliché I smell?" Rachel asked her sarcastically. Quinn rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Okay, fine, you diva." Quinn said. "What about this one?"

Rachel looked at the one Quinn was pointing to and nodded.

"Seems good, I actually never read it before though." Rachel said and clicked it open.

"It's actually really beautiful." Quinn said.

"Have you read it before?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, my dad has a book full of Shakespeare poetry, I came across it on his bookshelf once and I read most of them." Quinn said. "I even have some other poetry books if you want to use those instead of the internet."

"That might actually make things easier." Rachel said. "So, next time at your place? I'm thinking we can alternate."

"That would be great." Quinn smiled at her. A beep was heard and Rachel picked up her phone, she smiled at it and put it down.

"What joke did Kurt send you this time?" Quinn asked with a smile, knowing that recently Kurt had gotten used to texting the brunette.

"It's not Kurt actually, it's Finn." Rachel said. "He, uh, he asked me out Thursday after Glee."

"That's great." Quinn said, forcing herself to maintain her smile, and maybe even force it wider. Did her breathing just get heavier?

"I know, our date is tonight actually." Rachel said, and then turned back to her laptop to finish reading the poem they were considering for their project. "This poem seems really good."

"Yeah, it's of Shakespeare's better works." Quinn said, trying to steady her breathing. Were her eyes stinging? Was she about to cry? She blinked rapidly and went back to flipping through her poetry book mindlessly.

"It's perfect, and it's not too difficult to understand." Rachel said. She turned back to Quinn who was now on her bed. "You okay?"

"Huh? Yeah I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Quinn asked, maintaining her blank look.

"Your eyes are red." Rachel stated. Quinn sniffed instinctively and pressed the bridge of her nose, hoping the pressure will release some tension.

"It's, uh, just allergies." Quinn lied.

_Allergies to what you moron?!_

**_To that dough boy's name._**

_Shut up, Just shut up!_

"Allergies to what?" Rachel asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I don't know, I just suddenly have a very blocked nose." Quinn lied again.

"You sure you're okay?" Rachel asked again.

"Umm, I think I'd better go home." Quinn said, closing her book and throwing it into her bag.

"I guess, I mean if you're not feeling well." Rachel said, getting up and stepping towards the blonde who had just gotten up from her bed.

"It's nothing, but I just want to be sure I'm okay for tomorrow, I promised Puck I'd go over to his place and practice for Monday, you know?" Quinn said, she felt relieved that that wasn't a lie.

"Yeah, of course." Rachel said. She wrapped her arms around the girl and held her tightly for a few seconds. "I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks." Quinn said. She held the girl closely and took in the scent of her shampoo, which cause a lump to form in her throat. She really needed to get out of there. "I'll see you later."

Rachel unwrapped her arms from around the blonde's neck and let herself pull back.

"See you." Rachel said softly. And Quinn all but flew out of the room, out of the house and away from Rachel. She almost ran home and when she finally did she went straight to her room and flung herself on the bed, crying her eyes out for what felt like hours on end. When she finally had enough of wallowing in misery by herself she decided to send Kurt a text.

_'Kurt, are you busy?'_ she typed in and hit send.

_'No, why.'_ Kurt sent back.

_'Emergency, code blue.'_ She typed in.

_'Be there in five, do you have ice cream at home?'_ she read off the screen, her lips quirked into a smile, knowing that her best friend understood her completely.

_'Chocolate and vanilla.'_ She wrote out.

_'Perfect.'_ She read off the screen. She took a deep breath and changed quickly from her jeans and t-shirt to her sweatpants and a much baggier t-shirt. A few minutes later she heard the doorbell, went downstairs and opened the door to Kurt. Who immediately and wordlessly hugged her tightly.

"Hey Kurt." She mumbled with a smile.

"Shh, it's going to be okay, now tell me what happened." He said, stroking the back of her head gently.

"It's Rachel." She whispered, tears threatening to spring forth again.

"She didn't go back into bitch mode did she? Cause I swear I will cut her." Kurt stated.

"No, she was the best." Quinn half giggled and half whined. "She even told me the real reason why Santana slushied her on Wednesday."

"Yeah what was all that about?" Kurt asked pulling away and looking at Quinn.

"She defended us, Kurt, she told me she got pissed off at Santana because she judged us without even knowing us, and then she said she wanted to be our friend and Santana told her that if she was going to defend us she might as well join us and bam, blue slushy." Quinn explained. Kurt looked at her gob smacked.

"That girl is an angel." Kurt said softly, and then looked into Quinn's eyes. "So what happened then? Why are you going code blue on me?"

"Because she has a date with Finn tonight." Quinn said, breaking down into tears immediately, Kurt wrapped his arms around her once more and let her cry into his shoulder.

"Oh honey!" he said sympathetically. "Shh, it'll be okay."

He led her to the living room and let her curl up to him on the sofa, simply being there for her while she cried. He knew his best friend, he knew that she needed to cry it out before she talked about it, it was her healing process. Cry, talk and consume un-Godly amounts of ice cream, and then take her frustration out with basketball. So no doubt she would be in her back yard tomorrow bouncing that ball around and angrily dunking it into a hoop.

A few minutes passed, twenty to be exact, and she finally stopped crying. He lifted her head from his shoulder and wiped at her cheeks.

"You ready to talk now?" he asked softly.

"Yeah." Quinn nodded.

"Okay, wait here and let me get the ice cream okay? Which one do you want?" Kurt asked.

"Get both and two bowls, we'll mix, there's whipped cream in the fridge." She said.

"Where are the crushed nuts?" Kurt asked, knowing they're his best friend's favorite part of an ice cream sundae.

"In Hudson's pants if he doesn't treat Rachel right tonight." Quinn growled through gritted teeth. Kurt's eye brows raised up and he leaned back.

"Easy tiger. I mean the crushed peanuts you like on your sundae so much." Kurt said.

"Bottom cabinet closest to the fridge on the right, top shelf." Quinn explained, sighing out, he gave her a kiss on the forehead and walked out of the living room and into the kitchen she laid back on the sofa and dug the heels of her hands into her eyes, trying desperately to rub away the images of Finn and Rachel that were relentlessly swimming in her mind.

**_Hey, if it makes you feel better, that dude is way smaller than you are. Like, it might not even count as losing her virginity if they do anything._**

_It's times like these I realize why I keep you around._

She lay there, motionless, silent and thoughtless for a few minutes until Kurt came back into the living room with two bowls of ice cream and a spoon in each bowl. Quinn instantly went for the chocolate ice cream and then, as she was about to take a bite, she looked at the spoon filled with chocolate ice cream with sorrowful eyes. She dropped the spoon back into the bowl and began to bawl again. Kurt grabbed both their bowls and set them down on the coffee table. He wrapped his arms around Quinn tightly with a shocked expression on his face, it was not normal for her to bawl into her ice cream.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Kurt asked.

"Th-the chocolate." Was all Quinn could manage to sob out.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, confused. Since when was his best friend sad about chocolate ice cream?

"Wednesday, when me and Rachel shared the pudding." Quinn gasped out before breaking down into a fit of sobs again.

"Oh." Kurt said, nodding in understanding, damn. "Oh honey, all those times I've teased you, you really do have it bad for that girl don't you?"

Quinn didn't say anything, but Kurt felt her nodding against his shoulder.

"Shh, come on, it'll be okay." Kurt said.

"Do you know what she told me today Kurt?" Quinn sobbed out. Kurt pulled back to look at her, wiping away the tears on her face.

"What sweetie? What did she tell you?" Kurt encouraged, the faster he got her talking the faster she could get over the initial pain of all of this.

"Sh-she said that she'd keep defending us, even if it cost her a million slushy facials. She wouldn't ever back away from our friendship." Quinn sobbed, dropping her head into her hands. Kurt took in a deep breath and let it out, then reached over for the box of tissues on the corner table and held it out for Quinn, who pulled out two tissues and blew her nose into them, balling them up together and carelessly throwing them onto the coffee table before grabbing another one to wipe her eyes.

"Quinn, sweetie, I see the way she is with you, she hugs you tighter than I do! She stares into your eyes!" Kurt began listing. "The way she kisses you on the cheek is heart melting, there's something there, I know there is."

"If there is then why is she going out with Finn?" Quinn sobbed.

"Think about it Quinn, she's a cheerleader, he's a jock." Kurt said. "Now that she's letting herself be seen with us she needs him for her rep, I love her to death and I know you do too, but you can't blame her."

"I know you're right, but it hurts!" Quinn broke down again.

"I know it does sweetheart, I do, just give it some time. Rachel is a smart girl, I promise you she'll see the light in time." Kurt said comforting as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Her eyes light up whenever you walk into the room, she just needs time to realize her feelings."

"You're not just saying all this to make me feel better are you?" Quinn said, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

"Of course not." Kurt said. "She'll realize it, I promise you. For now, all you can do is be a supportive friend while she dates that jock."

"Wait a minute." Quinn sprung up. "What did you say?"

"You need to be a supportive friend." Kurt repeated.

"No no, after that, that part about Finn being a jock." Quinn said, seemingly getting excited over something.

"Well yeah, I mean he's the quarterback and he's on the basketball team so-" Kurt said.

"And I will be too!" Quinn jumped up.

"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked.

"Wednesday you remember I went to play basketball with Puck during my free period?" Quinn asked.

"Yes." Kurt nodded. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well when I was playing Puck saw how good I was and he showed me pictures of Charlie and his team in a trophy case and told me that they hadn't won a game since he graduated and he told me that I was just as good as him." Quinn explained quickly.

"And?" Kurt said, willing her to go on.

"Well he asked if I would try out for the team and I said yes, then today I told Rachel and she made me promise to give it my all and she assured me that I would be on the team." Quinn said. She stopped for a minute to catch her breath, having worn her lungs out due to the fast pace at which she was talking.

"Okay. First off…" Kurt said, ever so gently picking up a pillow off the sofa. Then he began rapidly hitting her with it.

"Why." _Whack _"Didn't." _Whack_ "You." _Whack_ "Tell." _Whack_ "Me." _Whack_ "You."_ Whack_ "Were." _Whack_ "Trying." _Whack_ "Out." _Whack_ "For." _Whack_ "The." _Whack_ "Team!"

"Ow ow! Kurt stop!" She said, laughing out. He stopped hitting her and began breathing heavily for dramatic effect. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't want you to be super excited for me and then get disappointed because I didn't make the team."

"Are you kidding me?!" he exclaimed.

"Please don't hit me again." She giggled.

"Quinn, my father wants to adopt you simply because you are amazing at basketball." Kurt told her with a straight face.

"Aww, Burt said that?"

_Whack._

"That's not the point Fabray!" he said.

"Stop hitting me." Quinn giggled out.

"The point is, you're amazing! Before I saw you play I didn't know there was anyway somebody could be bad at that game!" Kurt said. "You're going to get a place on that team! And when you do I am going to hit you with this pillow so hard you'll be in a coma for a week!"

"I don't think that's possible."

_Whack._

"Try me!"

"Okay, okay!" she lifted her hands up. "Chill would you?"

"And when you get a spot on that team." He continued. "Rachel is going to fly into your arms!"

"We still don't know if she's straight or not." Quinn said.

"Quinn, that girl very nearly dry humped you because you helped her pass math, and let's face it, you'd look damned hot in a letterman jacket." Kurt stated.

"Fine." Quinn gave in. "But she doesn't look like the gay type."

"Neither do you!" Kurt said.

"You have a point." Quinn said.

"Exactly, so you have a shot." Kurt said, then his eyes grew wider as realization hit him. "Oh my God."

"What?" Quinn asked.

"You're going to try out for the team." Kurt stated.

"Yes, multiple whacks with a pillow have established that." Quinn said, looking at her best friend, wondering where he was going with this.

"You have a shot at a place in the school hierarchy!" Kurt exclaimed happily. Quinn rolled her eyes. "Quinn badass jock Fabray! No one will ever mess with us again!"

"You're incorrigible." Quinn shook her head.

"Oh shut up and eat your ice cream." Kurt said giddily as he handed her the previously abandoned bowl. She ate happily as Kurt turned on the TV and grabbed his own bowl.

"Oh, hey when are try outs anyway?" he asked.

"Monday." She said non chalantly. He gaped at her and she looked at him. "What?"

_Whack._

"Oww!" she giggled. "Knock it off!"

"You need to practice!" he exclaimed.

"It's okay. I already planned with Puck, I'm going over to his place and we're going to practice together all day." She explained.

"Good, blow some Rachel induced steam off before try outs so you'll have your head in the game." Kurt instructed.

"You get all your basketball terms from High School Musical don't you?" she giggled.

"Shut up." Kurt says quickly, scooping up some of his ice cream and taking a bite.

"I love you." Quinn says, giving him a one armed side hug.

"I love you too." Kurt says, hugging her back.

They spent the rest of that afternoon watching TV, playing a video game and chatting about random things. When it was around 6:30PM, Quinn's phone rang. It was Rachel.

"Hello?" Quinn said into the phone after picking up.

"Hey," Rachel said cheerfully. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Umm, yeah." Quinn said, almost forgetting that Rachel thought she was sick or had allergies. "Yeah I'm fine."

"Good, I was worried, for a minute I actually considered cancelling with Finn to come over and take care of you." Rachel said with a giggle

_Dammit._

"That's sweet Rach, but you don't have to worry, I'm fine, Kurt actually came over to make sure I was okay." Quinn said with a smile. "Then he proceeded to pummel me with a pillow for not telling him about try outs."

"Tell him to give you one last one from me." Rachel giggled into the phone.

"Not happening." Quinn shook her head and smiled.

"Kill joy." Rachel teased. "Well I'm really glad you're okay, for a moment I was worried I accidentally poisoned you or something with my pasta."

"It would have been worth it." Quinn giggled.

"You really like that sauce huh?" Rachel said.

"I do." Quinn nodded. Kurt watched her intently as she spoke to the brunette she was bawling her eyes out about a few hours ago.

"So you're one hundred and fifty percent okay, right? Because I will cancel with Finn and rush right over otherwise." Rachel said.

"Rach, are you nervous about this date?" Quinn asked.

"Yes." Rachel whined out. I just, I'm freaking out! He's going to be here to pick me up in an hour and I don't know what I'm going to wear! And what if we have nothing in common? And-and-"

"Rachel! Breathe!" Quinn cut her off. "Giving yourself an aneurism is not what you want to happen on a first date."

"You're right. I just have no clue what to do." Rachel said.

"I do, I'll be over in five." Quinn said, hanging up the phone, she looked at Kurt. "Come on."

"What's happening?" Kurt asked, confused.

"We're going over to Rachel's so that we can help her get ready for her date, because she's freaking out and she's about to cancel on him and I can't let her do that on the count of I want to be a good friend." Quinn explained.

"Okay." Kurt said, then eyed Quinn up and down. "You may want to change first."

"Huh?" Quinn said, then looked down at herself, "Oh right."

She ran upstairs to put her jeans back on and threw on a t-shirt and put on her high tops again, grabbed her phone and house keys and they walked out of the house, all but running to Rachel's because Quinn desperately wanted to help her. Quinn jogged up her porch and rang the doorbell. The door flew open and Rachel came flying out into the blonde's arms.

"You have no idea how much this means to me." Rachel whispered into Quinn's ear.

"It's going to be okay sweetheart, we're going to help you get ready and this date is going to go off without a hitch, you got me?" Quinn said reassuringly, rubbing Rachel's back gently.

"Thank you so so much!" Rachel breathed out before pulling away. Kurt smiled at her and hugged her as soon as Quinn stepped away enough for him to be able to. She led them into her house and up to her room.

"Okay so first things first, where are you two going?" Quinn asked as she goes through Rachel's wardrobe, trying to help her pick out a dress.

"Dinner at Breadstix and then a movie." Rachel said as Kurt helped her pick out her make up.

"Reasonable for a first date, nothing too fancy, yet still somewhat romantic." Kurt mused as Rachel showed him her vast array of eye-shadow colors.

"Do you have an idea of what you want from your outfit?" Quinn asked, mulling over two dresses which seemed to be the best from the whole wardrobe.

"The only thing I know is that I will definitely be wearing heels, my highest pair." Rachel said, walking over to Quinn and bending down, picking up a pair of black pumps with huge heels, so much so that the shoes had platforms where the toes touch.

"Woah." Quinn eyes bulged at the shoes.

"What?" Rachel asked with a smirk.

"Nothing, it's just you might as well tattoo 'break here' on your ankles." Quinn said through a chuckle. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Not much for heels is she?" the brunette asked, looking at Kurt.

"She only owns one pair which she barely ever wears." Kurt said with a smirk.

"And I'm stiller taller than both of you so you can suck my-" Quinn began.

"Language!" Rachel and Kurt both chastised before she could finish her sentence, Kurt giving her a wide eyed glare. She bit her lip and giggled at him, shrugging at both of them.

"And you're only and inch and a half taller than me so don't be too cocky, a growth spurt could be waiting around the corner." Kurt shrugged back. The blonde shook her head at him with a smirk.

"Guys can we get back to my date please? I'm about to freak out again." Rachel mumbled as the thoughts took over her mind again.

"Okay, so you have the shoes, by the way, nice." Kurt said giving her a thumbs up.

"Now maybe we could pick a dress." Quinn continued.

"I was thinking maybe this one?" Rachel asked, pointing at one of the dresses Quinn was looking at.

"Very nice." Kurt hummed. Quinn picked the dress up and held it up in front of Rachel, immediately imagining her in it.

The dress was a short black simple dress with a v-cut neck. Quinn calculated that it would maybe reach four inches above her knees.

"Should I try it on?" Rachel asked. She was nibbling at her lip nervously as she watched Quinn muse over the dress.

"Sure." Quinn said, handing it to her. Rachel ran into the bathroom quickly to put it on. Kurt stepped up to Quinn.

"You sure you can handle this?" he asked quietly.

"Helping Rachel for her date? Yes. Seeing Rachel in that dress? We'll have to see." Quinn whispered quietly. Kurt smiled at her warmly.

"You are an amazing friend, you know that right?" Kurt asked. "You're crazy about her yet you're helping her get all dolled up for Finn."

"She's a good friend too, look what happened because she defended us." Quinn mumbled quietly. "She even promised to come watch me during try outs."

"Oh hell yes, I'm going to be there to." Kurt nodded in agreement. Quinn smiled at him shyly and shoved him playfully in the shoulder. "And Puck, well, that goes without saying, he's your bro."

"He called us lesbros the other day." Quinn giggled.

"Wouldn't that make him a lesbian as well?" Kurt asked, looking up and pondering for a moment. Quinn just shrugged and giggled. They heard the bathroom door click open and looked back in time to see Rachel emerge in the dress. She was looking down at herself, straightening the dress out nervously. She looked up at them to catch them staring at her, jaws ajar.

"What?" Rachel asked self-consciously.

"You look amazing!" Kurt said taking a step towards her excitedly.

"You really think so?" Rachel asked nervously.

"Definitely, drop dead gorgeous! Right Quinn?" Kurt asked looking at his best friend to back up his claims.

"I…uh…I-I…wow." Quinn stammered, eyes still wide as she looked at Rachel in amazement. The brunette raised an eye brow and leaned towards Kurt.

"Is she okay?" she muttered to the boy.

"I think you broke her." Kurt whispered back. Rachel giggled and stepped towards Quinn, taking her hands into her own and squeezing them gently. She looked up into the blonde's stunning hazel eyes.

"How do I look, Q?" Rachel asked the girl again.

**_Hotter than molten lava._**

_I…I…_

**_Oh shit, she did break you!_**

_Sweet baby Jesus._

Yo-you're really really pretty Rach." Quinn stammered out quickly with a goofy smile on her face. Kurt hid his face with his palm.

**_Fucking subtle, Fabray._**

"You mean it?" Rachel asked.

"Uh huh." Quinn nodded enthusiastically.

"Thank you." Rachel said, smiling up at her, biting her lip gently. There was the faint sound of a phone ringing from the hallway. "Oh, I'll be right back."

The brunette dropped Quinn's hands and hurried out of the room and down the stairs to answer the call. Kurt stepped up to Quinn.

"Fucking subtle, Fabray." He muttered.

"You and the voice in my head are agreeing, that's not good." Quinn pouted.

"We need to find a name for that thing." Kurt shook his head with a chuckle.

"Find a name for what?" Rachel's voice was heard as she walked back into the room.

"Just this silly voice in my head." Quinn said. Rachel giggled.

"We get to name it?" Rachel said with fake excitement.

"Well, admitting you have a problem is the first step towards the cure, even crippling insanity." Kurt said, smirking at Quinn, who rolled her eyes.

"I think I'm going to name it Kurt." Quinn piped up.

"Why?" Rachel said with a raised eyebrow.

"Because that's the name of the only other little shit that I know." Quinn said, smirking back at Kurt. Rachel threw her head back in laughter.

"You guys are hilarious." She said through giggles.

"Nah, we're just a little kooky." Kurt said, scrunching up his nose and smiling, then patted Rachel's shoulder lightly. "Come on hun, let's see about your make up."

"Maybe I should go." Quinn shuffled, suddenly nervous.

"What? Why?" Rachel asked.

"Make ups not my thing, I think I'd just be in the way." Quinn shrugged.

"Oh don't be silly, we can talk while Kurt does my make up!" Rachel said. "Please stay?"

"I don't know." Quinn shook her head lightly, why was she nervous all of a sudden.

"Please Quinn, I might freak out again and I'll need you here to cheer me up." Rachel said, grabbing the blonde's hands again. She looked up at her with hopeful, pleading eyes. "Please."

"Okay, fine." Quinn surrendered with a small smile. Rachel's face broke out into a huge grin as she hugged the blonde.

Quinn was sitting on Rachel's bed as Rachel sat at the vanity unit and Kurt did her make up.

"So when did Finn ask you out?" Kurt asked. Quinn cringed slightly at the sound of the jock's name.

"Last Thursday." Rachel answered, eyes closed as Kurt did her eye shadow. "After glee practice."

Quinn didn't want to say anything; she just looked around for something to distract herself. She noticed there was a magazine lying on the bed. She grabbed it, turned over so that she was resting on her stomach on the bed and began flipping through it, reading things that caught her eye randomly, not really taking any of it in. she looked at pictures of celebrities wearing extremely expensive outfits and then the magazine's suggestions to make cheaper imitations. She looked back at her two friends and saw that Kurt was putting lip gloss on Rachel's lips.

"How are the nerves?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Ready to burst at any moment." Rachel answered shakily.

"I did good work on your eyes, if you cry now you're a dead woman." Kurt threatened lightly, giggling at her and causing her to giggle softly along.

"You're going to be fine." Quinn stated, closing the magazine and shoving it away from her in frustration. She sat up on the edge of the bed and looked directly at Rachel, who was looking at her now. "If Finn doesn't like what he sees tonight, then he's a bigger moron than I pegged him for."

"What makes you think he's a moron?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The guy was going to taste something from a bottle in Chemistry class last year Rachel. Clearly the lights aren't all on up there." Quinn said with a straight face. Rachel couldn't help but release a short burst of laughter.

"What was it? Was it some weird chemical? Maybe he was trying to get super powers." Rachel giggled.

"Oh I'm sure." Kurt continued along, nodding at Quinn.

"It was iodine, it was heavily diluted so it was light in color, and he thought it was apple juice. I pulled the vial out of his hands just in time. I may have saved your date's life." Quinn nodded with a chuckle.

"Well, if it goes well tonight, I'll be sure to thank you." Rachel said with a giggle. "And thanks, I'm a bit more calm now."

"And you know what his favorite juice is." Kurt said cheerfully, causing her to release another burst of laughter. A soft buzzing was heard before a ringing began. Quinn pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID.

"It's Puck." She said softly before answering. "'sup bro?"

Rachel looked at Kurt with a raised eyebrow and mouthed 'bro?' to which he just shrugged and continued to put on the final touches of her make up.

"Yo Q!" Puck exclaimed through the phone. "What's up?"

"Not much, just chillin' at Rachel's, we're helping her get ready for a date." Quinn explained. "Hang on let me put you on speaker!"

"Cool."

Quinn placed her phone on the bed and hit the speaker button. "Okay."

"So our princess has a date tonight huh?" Puck asked. Rachel looked down for a second a tried to hide her blushing.

"Yes Puck!" she answered.

"Who's the royal suitor?" Puck asked.

"Finn." The three of them answered in unison.

"Ah, a fine choice." Puck said in a very bad british accent.

"You're such a dork Puckerman!" Quinn exclaimed into the phone.

"Fuck you Fabray!" Puck exclaimed back with a chuckle.

"Only if you wear a pretty dress." Quinn teased. Kurt and Rachel both clapped hands over their mouths to suppress their relentless laughter.

"Eww, don't give me bad images." Puck teased back. "Anyway, I was going to ask you guys if you wanted to hang and watch a movie or something."

"Well, Rachel's going out with Finn so she's automatically out." Quinn answered. "But I'm in, what about you Kurt?"

"Sure, why not?" Kurt responded rhetorically.

"Sweet, who's house is hosting?" Puck asked.

"My parents are going to a party." Quinn answered. "So we could do it at my place."

"Sweet!" Puck exclaimed excitedly.

"What movie?" Kurt asked.

"I'll bring a few DVDs over, we can pick later." Puck said.

"You better have good ones!" Quinn said.

"I got the Pirate's of the Carribean trilogy!" Puck said.

"Yes! Yes! A hundred times yes!" Kurt called. "Shirtless Orlando Bloom!"

"Screw you man! Kiera Knightly in a pirates outfit. That is h o t, HOT!" Quinn cheered.

"I have to agree with her on that." Rachel nodded. They both looked at her. On the other side of the line Puck raised his eyebrow.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"You just called a girl hot." Kurt reminded her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well yeah, she is." Rachel shrugged.

"Kurt, stop." Quinn said, giving him a light slap on his arm.

"Is it cause you guys think I'm straight?" Rachel said. Quinn looked at her with wide eyes.

Think?

"Rach, what are you saying?" Quinn asked.

"Well, what with my dads being gay, I was always raised to believe sexuality is more fluid than that." Rachel said with a shrug. "I prefer to identify as bisexual."

_Oh sweet baby Jesus._

**_Holy shit that's hot._**

"I've never done anything with a girl, but I do find certain girls attractive." Rachel said, looking directly at Quinn.

**_Dude. She is looking at you._**

_Kurt was right?_

"So what you're saying is that I'm the only straight person in this group?" Puck finally said through the phone. Kurt smirked mischievously, grabbing the phone and placing it close to his mouth.

"I can change that if you want." He said seductively before clapping a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.

"Eww, dude, you're like my little brother!" Puck exclaimed.

"So it's not that I'm a guy?" Kurt hinted, still giggling furiously.

"Knock it off." Puck demanded, chuckling. "So what Rachel is saying is that you're all a bunch of rainbow hoppers?"

"That sounds like a video game for five year olds." Quinn said with a quirked eye brow.

"You guys know what I mean." Puck said.

"Yes, Puck." Rachel said with a giggle.

"That is so cool." Puck said.

"Why are you so happy that all of us are gay or bi?" Quinn asked.

"Cause man, I'm sick of how closed minded this town is, I love the fact that my three closest friends aren't like that." Puck said.

"Aww, that's so sweet." Rachel said.

"Yeah it really is Puck." Kurt said with a wide smile, his heart swelling and tears brimming at his eyes.

"Q, Kurt, I'll see you two in about an hour. Rachel, good luck tonight, and if Finn doesn't treat you like a princess I expect you to let me know so that I can make him swallow his teeth." Puck said.

"Puck, no violence, you know I hate that." Rachel reprimanded, before taking the phone from Kurt and smiling. "But thank you, it means a lot."

"No problem, have fun." Puck said gently.

"Thanks." She said softly before handing the phone back to Quinn.

"I'll see you soon Puck." The blonde said gently into the phone.

"See you Q." Puck said before disconnecting the call. Quinn pressed the button on top of her phone to lock it before putting it back in her pocket.

"You know," Rachel began. "Puck acts tough, but he's really a huge softy."

"Yeah, behind that Mo hawk is a heart of gold." Kurt mused before going back to finish up Rachel's make up. They helped her calm down the last few nerves which stirred up when she realized she was deathly afraid of horror movies and that Finn would probably not want to see a rom com; but Kurt said she could easily shut her eyes at the scary parts and maybe use it as an excuse to grab Finn hand. This comforted her, knowing that something she saw as a setback, she could utilize to make this date a success.

"Oh, and if he doesn't drop his jaw the minute he sees you, I'm assuming that he's gay." Quinn says with a giggle. Rachel rolled her eyes at the blonde. "What? You know I'm right!"

"He'd have to be gayer than me because even I'm shocked at how stunning you look." Kurt said, giving the brunette a hug from behind.

"Aww, thanks guys." Rachel said, her heart and ego swelling with the love and compliments her friends were showering her with. Quinn looked at the time on her phone.

"Okay he'll be here in fifteen minutes, do you want us to leave or should we wait till he gets here?" Quinn said, looking up from her phone to Rachel.

"I don't want to be alone, something inside me is still nagging at me to cancel. I need a push." Rachel said with a sigh.

"Why are you so determined to cancel Rach? You like the guy don't you?" Quinn asked, genuinely concerned.

"Of course I like him! I'm just horribly nervous, and I'm starting to question my outfit choice." Rachel looks down at herself self consciously. Quinn stands up and takes the shorter girl's hands into her own, squeezing them reassuringly.

"Rach, you look stunning, his mouth is going to dry up the minute he sees you! He'll be speechless!" Quinn said with a determined look on her face.

"How can you be so sure?" Rachel pushed.

"Because no straight woman or gay man can look at you right now and not question their sexuality." Quinn said with a chuckle.

"That's not an answer Quinn." Rachel said.

"Okay, the truth is that I can't be sure because obviously I don't know what's going on in the guy's head." Quinn admitted. "But I know in my gut that this date is going to work out."

"Oh great, your gut talks to you now too?" Rachel said with a giggle.

"Only when I'm hungry." Quinn shrugs and chuckles again. "What I mean is that I have a good feeling about this date, and my gut feelings are never wrong."

"Is that so?" Rachel said with a raised eye brow.

"It is." Quinn nodded.

"So what does your gut tell you about you making the team then?" Rachel asked with a smug smirk on her face.

"What does that have to do with your date with Finn?" Quinn asked with a hitches eyebrow.

"Just answer the question, what does your gut say about the try outs?" Rachel asked again. Kurt smiled at Rachel and then looked at Quinn, waiting for her answer. Knowing fully what the brunette was thinking.

"Okay, so I may be able to get on the team." Quinn surrendered with a sigh.

"May be?" Kurt and Rachel said in unison, not accepting the statement from the blonde. A hand reached up to her shoulder and the hands which she held in hers tightened their grip gently.

"Quinn." Rachel said, getting the blonde to look up into her eyes. "You _are_ getting on that team."

"Exactly, and everyone that has ever judged us, or slushied us for being losers, they're going to be speechless when they see you walking through the halls with that letterman jacket." Kurt said warmly with a smile. Rachel's eyes lowered themselves to the floor when Kurt mentioned everything that she used to do to the two. Then she began imagining what would happen if she never joined Glee or had gotten partnered with Quinn for their English assignment. She wondered what her reaction would be if she saw Quinn walking through the halls of McKinley high school suddenly with a brand new letterman jacket. The rumors would be that she's dating a guy that's on the team, and everyone would try to figure out who it is, and they would ignore the fact that it fits her perfectly. And if she were to be totally honest with herself, she would ignore that fact as well, because she wouldn't have the privilege of knowing Quinn, or knowing how good she at basketball, or the fact that she's gay. She would go along with the rumors and probably believe them one hundred percent until one fine day, she's at a pep rally for the start of basketball season in the gymnasium with the entire school, cheering on the team, and Figgins would speak into the microphone, announce the William McKinley high Titans basketball team. The crowd would roar and cheer loudly, as would she and the rest of the cheerios. They would cheer even though the current team sucks and have no chance of winning. And then the team would come out, dribbling basketballs and cheering at the crowd, and among all the boys, there would be Quinn, jumping around, shooting basketballs into the hoops and high fiving her team mates. And she would see her there and stare in awe. Then the first game of the season would come around, and everyone would be confident that they would win because now they have a Fabray on the team again, but others would express their doubt, stating how she's a loser, and how she's a girl and so automatically cannot be better than a guy at a sport. And then they would win thanks to her, and everyone would be shocked and her popularity would peak, no one would mess with Quinn Fabray anymore, because she's the next Charlie Fabray and she's a force to be reckoned with. But even then, she wouldn't give Rachel the time of day, because she's always been the girl that ordered slushies on her and tormented her and put her through hell. And that thought made Rachel's stomach flip flop and her heart go heavy like it suddenly turned to lead. She took in a deep breath, pushing back the negative thoughts. And she found doing that really easy, because she did join Glee, she was paired with Quinn on the English project, and because she was blessed with those events she could proudly state that she knew Quinn, and she knew how good she was at basketball, and that she was gay. She knew all of that and so much more, because Quinn _did_ give her the time of day, she did far more than that. She helped her even after all that torment and all those slushies. She helped her pass her math test, and when she had a panic attack because she thought she failed, she was there to reassure her, to wipe her tears away and tell her that she would pass and that she would still be head cheerio and that she would keep that position on the squad for the next two years she has left in high school. And when she had a falling out with the person she thought was her best friend and she got slushied, she saw her and rushed her to the bathroom. And because of that she befriended Kurt. That day it was made clear to her, she lost a friend but she gained two, three even, because then Puck showed up at lunch. And they became inseparable, like four siblings. They teased each other and joked with each other and loved each other so much they would do anything for each other, even punch someone because they didn't treat one of them right on a date. And at that thought, her heart lightened and swelled, and a smile appeared on her face from out of nowhere. And suddenly she registered that someone had been talking to her while she was trapped inside her thought.

"Rach? Rachel? Earth to Rachel, do you read?" Quinn said, giving the brunette a gentle shake to wake her out of her daze.

"Huh?" Rachel said, snapping out of her thoughts. "Sorry did you say something?"

"Are you okay? You totally just spaced out on us?" Quinn asked. The shorter girl couldn't help but widen her smile, allowing it to reach megawatt levels.

"Yeah Quinn, I'm fine, I'm great actually! Because I have both of you and I have Puck and I have so many good things right now and I am so blessed it is amazing!" Rachel went on, barely stopping between words. She didn't give Quinn a chance to answer, she released the blonde's hands and wrapped her arms around her neck in a tight and extremely content hug.

"Oh…Kay?" Quinn said, hugging the brunette back and looking at Kurt with a confused look, complete with quirked eyebrow. He mirrored her expression and shrugged, as if to say 'Don't look at me, my guess is as good as yours.'

They hang out and talked about different things, the latest gossip from McKinley, favorite music, favorite movies. Just about anything to get Rachel's mind off of the impending arrival of Finn. But those fifteen minutes passed all too quickly and soon the doorbell was heard and Rachel's pulse rate increased rapidly.

"Oh God, he's here." She muttered.

"Relax. You'll be fine." Quinn said, instinctively wrapping her arms around the smaller girl.

"Yeah, you'll knock his socks off!" Kurt said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder when she pulled back from the blonde. He handed her her shoes and she slipped them on. Kurt grabbed the purse that was sitting on the vanity unit waiting to be picked up and handed it to her.

"Okay, sound off, phone?" Quinn asked.

"Check." Rachel said with a nod.

"Emergency money even though he's paying?" Kurt asked in the same way Quinn did.

"Done, and let's not be sexist about this." Rachel said with a smirk. They both responded with an eye roll.

"Tissues in case of emergency?" Quinn asked.

"Check, and thanks for the tip." Rachel answered.

"Lip gloss in case the date _really_ works out?" Kurt said with a smile, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"_Check_." Rachel responded with a playful whack to his shoulder. He giggled and smiled at her warmly.

"911 on speed dial for when you ankles give out in those death traps?" Quinn teased.

"Shut it Fabray." Rachel rolled her eyes at the blonde and then smiled at her through the mirror which she was looking at for a final check of her make up.

"You look amazing sweetheart." Kurt said, looking at her through the mirror and placing both hands on her shoulders.

"Yeah Rach, you're beautiful." Quinn said softly from behind Kurt.

"Thank you." Rachel said with a smile. "Both of you, for everything."

"No need to thank us, what are friends for." Kurt said. Quinn just smiled at the brunette through the mirror. Rachel took a deep breath and turned to Kurt, giving him a tight hug. She turned to Quinn and hugged her again.

"Now go." Quinn said softly into her ear, then pulled back. "Have fun, and call me when you get home and let me know how it went, deal?"

"Deal." Rachel smiled with a firm nod. Kurt held open her jacket for her. She slipped it on and grabbed her purse. She took a final deep breath, let it go and walked out of her bedroom, Quinn and Kurt following her out of the house. Rachel opened the door to find Finn standing there wearing a suit and holding a bouquet of blue roses.

_Oh God. Seriously?_

"Hey Rach…Wow…you look…woah…" Finn said, looking Rachel up and down, taking her in.

_This guy's vocab is just amazing._

"Thank you Finn." Rachel said with a megawatt smile, her heart fluttering. She looked at the flowers with a confused looks. "Are…are those for me?"

"Yeah, I picked them up on my way over here from the flower store; you know that one that's right next to where I live? Only you wouldn't know that 'cause you don't know where I live." Finn rambled, catching his mistake. "Anyway and I saw he had blue flowers, which was weird case I've never seen blue flowers in my whole life and they just looked so cool, and I remember you saying blue was your favorite color so I thought 'hey maybe she'd like those.' So here they are."

"That's very sweet of you Finn, but my favorite color is yellow." Rachel reminded him.

"Oh, right…Crap." Finn muttered to himself.

"But that's okay, because yellow roses mean infidelity and regret so…" Rachel said.

"Oh, well that's good then." Finn said, smiling again. "Wait so what do blue roses mean?"

_That you're a twat. _Quinn thought to herself, keeping her smile steady and polite, clenching her teeth to stop herself from bursting out in laughter.

"Uhm, that's not important," Rachel dismissed. "It's the thought that counts, they're lovely, thank you."

Rachel took the flowers in her hands. "Let me go put them in some water real quick okay?"

"Sure." Finn said with a smile and a nod. Rachel walked back into the house quickly and Kurt and Quinn hovered at the door. He kept his smile at them to be polite.

"So…Finn…how's the football team?" Kurt asked feigning interest to avoid awkward silences.

"Oh, it's okay, we're hoping we'll do well this year, but I'm also focusing on the basketball team this year." He answered.

"You're on the basketball team?" Kurt asked, now interested, Quinn shot him a look that begged him not to go on, but he didn't notice. "What a coincidence, Quinn is trying out next Monday."

"Y-You play basketball?" Finn asked the blonde, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah it's uh…it's kind of in my blood." Quinn said with a shrug and a shy smile. Finn furrowed his eyebrows at her.

"Her brother is Charlie Fabray." Kurt answered his unspoken question.

"Ch-Charlie Fabray? _The _Charlie Fabray?" Finn asked, turning from Kurt to Quinn, utterly surprised at the news.

"Yeah." Quinn nodded, scratching the back of her neck nervously.

"That's amazing, are you as good as he is?" Finn asked.

"Well he thought me all I know, so maybe." Quinn shrugged. "I guess we'll have to wait for Monday to see."

"Oh definitely!" Finn said. "Wow that's amazing, we've never had a girl on the team, but once the guys hear you're a Fabray, they're going to fall in love with you!"

"You sure they're not just in love with Charlie?" Quinn asked with a small smile. Finn let out a burst of laughter.

"That's funny." He said with a nod, Rachel came back to find them all smiling.

"What's funny?" she asked.

"Nothing we're just talking about Quinn trying out on Monday." Finn answered.

"Oh yeah!" Rachel said, flashing a smile at the blonde.

"Anyway, you ready to go?" Finn asked.

"Yep, all set." Rachel said. Finn held out his elbow and she linked her arm to his.

"Have fun guys!" Kurt said as they began walking.

"Thanks, bye guys, hey see you on Monday Quinn!" Finn said waving back at them.

"See you." She said. Rachel turned slightly and waved to the both of them. They both waved back and each gave her a thumbs up as they walked away, watching them leave.

"Okay Q, they're out of ear shot." Kurt said, and Quinn automatically burst out in wild laughter. "You know you're horrible right?"

"h-he got her blue fucking roses!" Quinn squeeled as she laughed wildly. "Oh my god!"

"You're going to hell." Kurt rolled his eyes and the blonde fell to her knees in laughter. Quinn didn't say anything, she just clutched at her abdomen and let the relentless laughter out. after a full five minutes of laughing she finally calmed down and tried to catch her breath.

"Are you finally done?" Kurt asked, looking down at the blonde. She nodded, but then started chuckling again and shook her head. Kurt let out a deep sigh and grabbed her from the back of her shirt. "Come on, get up, we have to go meet Puck."

"God he is such a moron!" Quinn chuckled.

"Puck?" Kurt asked with a raised eye brow.

"Finn!" She corrected. "He got her blue roses, Kurt. _Blue. Freakin'. Roses._ You do know what they mean right?"

"Yes, of course I do." Kurt answered, walking back into Rachel's house and turning off the lights.

"That was just freaking hilarious!" Quinn said, taking the spare key out from under the welcome mat. "And he thought it was her favorite color! Everyone knows it's yellow! Plus, roses don't work that way!"

"Yes, yes, we get it, he messed up." Kurt chastised, taking the spare key from her hand, closing the front door and locking it. "Let's not forget Rachel in all of this, she must have been devastated when she saw them, it's a good thing he explained."

"Yeah you're right." Quinn nodded, her laughing dying down to a small smile. "But you have to admit it was pretty funny!"

"Yeah it was kind of funny." Kurt admitted, finally letting out a soft chuckle. "Now come on, let's go! We have to order pizza and make popcorn before Puck gets here and we can enjoy the sexiness that is Orlando Bloom."

"Kiera Knightly." Quinn says, trying badly to hide it behind a cough. Kurt rolled his eyes at her as they started walking to the Fabray household.

"Oh shut up, ya flamin' homo!" Kurt said with a giggle. They walked down the way to her house with their arms linked as they laughed. When they got to Quinn's house they ordered two large pepperoni pizzas and made a big bowl of popcorn. A while later, Puck arrived and they watched two of the three movies before it got late and the two boys left before Quinn's parents arrived home. The night had been spontaneous but definitely memorable. They laughed as Kurt and Quinn retold the story of the blue flower mishap. They ate, chatted, teased. It was perfect. And halfway through the second movie Quinn's phone buzzed. A new text message from Rachel.

_'Hey Q. just got back home, thanks for locking up, date went great! But I'm exhausted, can we talk tomorrow, my feet are killing me and I just want to go to bed.'_

Quinn quickly typed in a reply.

_'Sure Rach, no problem, I'll call you before I meet up with Puck for practice.' _

She hit send and a few minutes later a new reply came through.

_'Thanks, goodnight :) xx'_

_'Goodnight Rach, glad your date went well. Xx' _Quinn typed out with a sigh. Kurt knew why, Puck was slightly confused, but if it made his friend this sad out of now where, he didn't want to ruin the night, he just wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in for a side-hug. She may not know why he's hugging her out of nowhere, but at least she'll know he's here for her when she feels ready to talk.

And in the meantime he can make her smile by reminding her how hot Kiera Knightly is.

And Quinn laughed at every joke he made and she forgot all about her troubles.

Because now she was with her best friend and her bro. And this was a time to be happy.

And damn, it was perfect.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, just a quick note:**

**For those who don't know, when you give someone a blue rose, it's a polite way of saying 'I like you, but this isn't going to work.'**

**So yeah, that idea came out of nowhere when I remembered it.**

**I hope you likes this chapter! Please don't forget to review, because they make me happy and make me want to write more.**

**And for those who thought the last few sentences were weird and it made the ending of this chapter awkward, I just pulled them out of my ass to close this chapter up and work on the next one, because they were supposed to be one whole thing. So yeah...**

**Thanks for reading and again, reviews make me feel fluffy inside :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry the chapter took a bit of time, you know, writing brilliance takes time. *flips hair***

***cricket sounds***

***ahem***

**Okay so I hope you like this chapter, these things are getting increasingly longer, according to my word counter this one is about as long as the previous one. So that's good for the numerous rievewers who said they like long chapters *yay***

**I hope you like this chapter, it got a bit slow to write at certain points, but other's were a cake walk.**

**Also I bought new head phones at around the end of this chapter so if it seems like I was really into it at the end, you'll know why, music is always a big help.**

**But anyway enough rambling, let's leave that to Rachel shall we? ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The next day Quinn and Puck were in Puck's back yard, playing one on one as Puck advised Quinn on certain things she should remember during her tryout. When she was doing well, he decided to give a go at something he was meaning to talk about since the previous night.

"So, what the hell was all that with Rachel last night?" He asked as he tried to block her from the hoop, but she faked going left and went right instead, running half a circle around him and jumping up, tossing the ball through the hoop with a smack of the net against the ball.

"She had a date with Finn last night." Quinn said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I know, but…last night you, I don't know you were smiling at one point and then your face just…dropped." Puck said, dribbling the ball and trying to get around the blonde to get out and shoot, but she blocked him and stole the ball, dribbling away from him and then dodging him once again, scoring another two points.

"Well, the date went well, apparently anyway." Quinn shrugged, hunched over and hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"And you didn't want it to." Puck stated not asked. Quinn didn't nod, she didn't shake her head. She just gave him a look, and he knew immediately that his assumption was correct. "Look I know I'm not the best with the ladies, I mean I screw them and then dump them, but something about the way she looks at you…I don't know man, but when she hugs you, she holds you for longer than she does anyone, hugs you tighter and her smile when she sees you…she lights up Q, and I don't think she even realizes."

"Kurt said the same thing yesterday." Quinn shrugged, grabbing her water bottle off the garden bench in the patch of grass.

"See, so it's not just me." Puck said.

"I know man but, come on, between me, a loser, and Finn: The quarterback of the football team, a player on the basketball team. I really can't compete!" Quinn shrugged again.

"Dude, for the billionth time! You're going to be a jock to as of tomorrow!" Puck reminded her.

"Look, I love the confidence you have in me, and I know I'm a Fabray, it's in my blood. But something just…I don't know, there's this little tiny nagging voice in my head that tells me that I might not make it; that I'm not good enough to keep up the Fabray legacy." Quinn admitted.

"Quinn." Puck said, frustrated. He walked up to the girl and put his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me."

"What?" Quinn said, looking up into his fierce, determined eyes. They shook her for a second.

"Quinn. Push it all aside, the fact that you're a girl, the fact that you're a Fabray. I want you to take a minute, shut your eyes and forget about it for a moment." Puck asked. "Can you do that for me? Don't be Quinn Fabray for a second. Just be Q."

The blonde looked into his eyes as he spoke, and then nodded slowly. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes, doing as he asked. Pushing all those factors aside. She's not a girl. She's not a Fabray. She's Q for now. Q is a genderless, nameless being.

"Okay?" Puck's voice came in softly. "Now. Just imagine it's you, in the middle of a game. You've got the ball in hand, all your team mates are blocked and time's running out. One last shot and we win the game, but if we don't make this shot we lose. It's do or die. You're center court. Tell me. What do you do. As Q. What would Q, the genderless, last name-less basketball player. What would you do, Q?"

She thought about for a moment, bringing the image into her mind. She's there, standing center court, ball in hand in a red Jersey and white shorts, ball in hand. A number printed on the back of her jersey, underneath the white letter Q. she doesn't regard her chest, her crotch or her hair. She forgets all about it. Her appearance at this point is a blur and is unimportant. Then she sees her teammates. She can make out Finn and Puck, but she doesn't know exactly who the others are, they are a bigger blur than she is, just red and white blurs in the back ground, covered by blue and black blurs. She doesn't know why she chose those colors, probably because she remembers them from when she went to watch her brother's last game before he graduated. A blue and black blur stood before her. Then she took a deep breath and began working it all out.

"I dribble." She began. "I move forward, towards my opponent, I fake passing to my left, turn to my right and dribble some more, heading towards the net."

"The players are moving Quinn, a few teammates are open and the players are trying to block you." Puck said, as if he was grabbing the images in her mind and morphing them, they moved to his instructions.

"I pass to a player, run up as the opponent's attention is caught, I sign to the player again. He passes to me. I catch, dribble, fake right and turn left, dribbling through my legs to protect the ball. I run up to the net, jump and shoot. It…goes through." She finished.

"Game's over Q. We won. Thanks to you." Puck says softly. You can open your eyes now." Puck says softly. She opens her eyes and takes another deep breath.

"What was the point of all that?" she asks finally.

"Q, you don't need your name, you don't need your gender. You're good because you know how to play, and you know what to do in a time of crisis." Puck said gently, his hands still on her shoulders.

"Puck. That's my fantasy, of course I'm going to win in my fantasy." She argues.

"But you have a strategy, you know how to play, you know the tricks, and you can do them. That's what's important." Puck said gently. "During tryouts, it's going to be one on one with someone who is competing with you for a position."

"Just…just tell me how try outs work. What's Coach Beiste's strategy?" Quinn asks, stepping out of Puck's grasp and grabbing the ball again, dribbling it around and practicing some moves with it.

"Okay. Say there are four people trying out right?" He hypothesizes. Quinn nods, agreeing.

"Okay, so you play, one on one. You against player 1, player 2 against player 3." Puck says, waiting for Quinn's nod to make sure she understands. "So, if you win against player 1, and player 3 wins against player 2. You and 3 play against each other and 2 and 1 play against each other."

"Okay." She sighs out.

"If you win against 3, and 1 wins against 2, you two are both on the team and you take two of the three positions." Puck explains.

"But then who takes the third position?" Quinn asks.

"2 and 3 play again and the winner takes the position." Puck says.

"Any idea how many people are trying out?" Quinn asked.

"Not really, but I recognized a few names from football try outs. People who failed at football are trying basketball because they're desperate to get on a team so that they won't be dubbed losers." Puck explained.

"This is going to be torture." Quinn said, dribbling the ball and shooting it through the hoop, the net smacking against the rubber again.

"You do realize you made every single shot ever since you got here right?" Puck asked.

"You're not even blocking me right now." Quinn shrugged.

"Doesn't matter Q, even when I was blocking you, you made the shots, you've got what it takes, you just don't have the confidence. And that's what you need, if you believe you can do it, then you will do it, but if you don't then you're just going to give up before you even start." Puck said with a shrug. "You know, sometimes I wonder if you're just doing this because you saw how excited I was, and I start thinking maybe you plan on throwing the tryouts. Make me happy but don't tie yourself to anything. That's just fucked up."

"Puck, you know that's not true! I love this sport! More than anything, it's what gets me through shit, it's my favorite hobby." Quinn said reassuringly.

"Then quit going on about how you're not good enough, because you are, and if you give it your all, you'll get on that team in a heartbeat. Hell, you might even be in the running for captain." Puck said.

"I don't think coach Beiste is going to put a newbie as captain." Quinn said.

"You're right, she won't, but hell you definitely have a shot." Puck said, hands in his short pockets. "Maybe not this year, but next year, if you're as good as you seem to be, if you give it your very best."

Then realization hit the blonde. She had promised Rachel that she would give it her all, that she would be the very best she can be at those try outs. And in turn Rachel had promised that she would be there to cheer her on, as did Kurt. And she knew that Puck would be there too. She took in a deep breath.

"I have to give this my all and make the team." Quinn said with finality.

"Finally." Puck said. "and people say I don't do pep talks."

"No." Quinn said. "It's not that, though you are right, but…I promised Rachel."

"Oh." Pucks aid quietly. "Quinn you can't just do it for Rachel, I mean if you don't want to be on the team-"

"I do." Quinn cut him off "I really, really do. And so does she, that's why she made me promise, cause she knew I wanted to be on the team and she knew I was scared I wouldn't get picked so she made me promise her. She knew I couldn't break a promise to her."

"Quinn…That's just awesome." Puck said, walking over to the girl and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I didn't even need to tell her any of that." Quinn says quietly. "She just…I don't know it's like she read my mind."

"Quinn…" he says in the same tone he did before. "That's just creepy."

The blonde burst out in laughter at the serious way Puck said it. Then she looked at him and saw that he still had a serious look in his face.

"I'm serious Q, she creeps me out sometimes, she finishes your sentences and it's scary." He says, his demeanor un changing.

"You're ridiculous." Quinn shook her head with a chuckle.

"What's ridiculous?" they hear a voice from behind the fence. They see Rachel with her arms over the fence smiling, Kurt standing beside her.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Quinn said happily, running over and opening the back gate for them. They walked into the back yard and Quinn immediately enveloped Rachel in a tight hug.

"We came to watch you two practice." Kurt said as Quinn pulled away from Rachel to hug him. He held his hands up to deflect her. "No way, sweaty Fabray!"

"Hey that rhymed!" Rachel piped up. Quinn giggled as Kurt and Puck rolled their eyes.

"Come on guys quit distracting McKinley's only hope at winning a basketball game. Sit back, relax and watch the game." Puck said, pointing to the bench. "Q come on let's get back in the game."

"Ugh, Puck can we just play for fun for a while? Please?" Quinn pleaded.

"Fine, we can play relaxed for a bit, but then we get back into it okay?" Puck said.

"Deal!" Quinn agreed. She turned to Rachel and Kurt. "You guys want to play for a bit?"

"Eh, why not, might make you feel better about yourself." Kurt said with a shrug, pulling off the cardigan and light scarf that he was wearing, revealing his plain lime green t-shirt fully. He was wearing white jeans and a pair of high tops.

"Cool, you joining in too Rach?" Quinn said, turning to the brunette.

"I've never played before." Rachel shrugged.

"There's a first time for everything." Quinn said with a smile. Rachel smiled back at her and thought about it for a second before shrugging.

"Sure, why not." She said softly.

"Sweet, come on, I'll show you how!" Quinn said, grabbing the shorter girl's hand excitedly and pulling her towards the middle of the little one sided court Puck had in his back yard. She picked up the ball from the ground and handed it to Rachel, who took it between both hands, then she positioned the brunette in front of the net, stood behind her and placed her own hands over hers on the ball, putting only the slightest pressure on them to guide Rachel's hands.

"Okay, you throw it to the net like this." She said softly, guiding her hands around so that they're on top and at the bottom of the ball rather than at the sides. She guides the left hand, which is at the bottom, up higher. "Okay, the left hand keeps the ball balanced; the right launches it off your left and into the hoop."

"Okay." Rachel said with a nod, indicating to Quinn that she understands.

"Okay, now it's not just about pushing the ball off of your left hand and into the air, you have to bend your wrist forward just when your left hand loses contact with the ball, so that it will bend into the hoop." Quinn explained softly into Rachel's ear, her warm breath and smooth voice sending shivers down the shorter girl's spine. Rachel nods slowly, trying hard to keep her focus on what Quinn is telling her. "Okay, now you see that box in the middle of the board?"

"Yeah?" Rachel said, willing Quinn to continue.

"You have to aim for that box. If the ball hits it with the right force, then it will go into the net, but careful, too much strength and it'll just launch itself off the board and hit Kurt or Puck in the face." Quinn said softly with a slight chuckle. Rachel giggled softly. "Okay, ready?"

"Yeah." Rachel whispered back, not wanting to ruin the serenity of Quinn's voice melding in with the background of a soft breeze and the birds gently chirping in the afternoon sun.

"Okay, here we go." Quinn said, guiding Rachel's hands as the brunette launched the ball as she was told: Aim at the box, launch off her left hand, bend the right wrist forward as it loses contact. Soon the ball was curving into the hoop, slapping against the net.

"I did it!" Rachel celebrated, turning to Quinn and giving her a gentle hug.

"Yeah we did." Quinn said gently as she warmly wrapped her arms around the girl.

"Can I try on my own this time?" Rachel asked her excitedly.

"Sure." Quinn nodded. Rachel turned around and picked up the ball from under the net. She took the same position she had in front of Quinn and again followed the instructions given to her, only the ball just barely missed the hoop, curving down into the ground, but not before grazing the metal hoop. Rachel pouted up at the net.

"It's okay Rach, try again." Quinn said softly. "Try just a bit more strength into the launch this time."

Rachel nodded and picked the ball up again as Quinn turned to Kurt and Puck. The two boys stood, arms crossed and small smirks on their face.

"What?" She said to them when she reached them.

"Nothing, just enjoying the show." Puck said softly with a smile.

"I'm just showing her how to shoot into the net guys." Quinn shrugged.

"Is that so? Cause when you and my dad tried to show me the first time, you called me a pussy and said you had no idea how I hoped to be a successful gay guy if I couldn't handle any balls." Kurt reminded her with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well she-" Quinn was about to say until-

"Quinn!" Rachel exclaimed, the blonde turned around just in time to see the ball curve perfectly into the hoop, slapping the net on its way down.

"Nice!" Quinn exclaimed.

"I did it!" Rachel celebrated, raising her arms up happily as she turned to them. Kurt and Quinn clapped, both giggling while Puck placed his thumb and index finger into his mouth, whistling as he fist pumped the air. Rachel laughed happily and skipped over to Quinn, pulling her into another hug. "Was it a good shot?"

"I think you may just need to try out with me tomorrow!" Quinn giggled as she pulled back from the brunette.

"Don't be silly, I'm your personal cheerleader tomorrow!" Rachel reminded her. Quinn giggled.

"Please tell me you'll just be there to cheer me on and not actually show up with pompoms and a pre-rehearsed routine?" Quinn asked sarcastically.

"You mean I spent all morning coming up with a routine for nothing?" Rachel asked her, wide eyes and shocked, sad face.

"What?" Quinn's eyes grew wide and she looked terrified for a moment. That is, before Rachel's demeanor broke and she burst out laughing.

"Oh my God Quinn, chill, I'm kidding." Rachel said through loud giggles.

"I hate you!" Quinn said with a chuckle, crossing her arms and pretending to be mad.

"Oh please, Q, you love me!" Rachel poked Quinn in the side, causing her to squirm.

"Okay, okay!" Quinn said, stepping away from the girl to get her to stop tickling her. "You're right, I do love you!"

"Aww, I love you too!" Rachel said happily, jumping into the girl's arms. It was just then that what Quinn had said hit her.

Because she did love Rachel, far more than she would ever know.

* * *

Monday rolled around like nobody's business, and Quinn's nerves were at an all time high. It was third period. She had four hours plus lunch and the fifteen minutes coach Beiste allowed for the kids to get changed into their gear. She had all this time to wait, and all it did was unnerve her even more. She didn't want to wait, she wanted to get the tryouts over and done with. She took a deep breath and tried desperately to concentrate on Chemistry. Puck sat next to her and noticed how she tapped her foot impatiently. He leaned over.

"Relax will you?" Puck said. Quinn didn't respond she just shook her head. "This isn't good for you, you've got to relax!"

"I told my mom and dad about the tryouts last night during dinner." Quinn hissed.

"And?" Puck asked with a raised eyebrow.

"And?" Quinn repeated, as if she can't believe he doesn't know. "And they're prouder than peacocks! Which means I have to make the team otherwise I'll disappoint them! And God knows that's the last thing I want to do!"

"You're not going to disappoint them!" Puck reassures her. "Did you call Charlie?"

"No. Hell no. I'll tell him if I make the team, if I don't then he won't ever know that his little sister is a failure." Quinn shook her head viciously. "There's no way I'm doing that to him!"

"Quinn…" Puck said softly, calming. "You do know that if you don't make the team it doesn't mean you're a failure, right? Don't get me wrong, you're definitely making the team, but if some crazy ass thing happens that means you don't make the team, it's not the end of the world! Your parents will still love you, Charlie will still love you, and so will we!"

"I know Puck, I know!" Quinn sighs, dropping her head into her hands and then running them furiously through her long hair. "It's just…"

"What?" Puck asks softly, willing her to go on. "You can tell me Q, it's okay."

"It's just, when Charlie started teaching me basketball, he was so proud of me when I started doing really well, you know? I could even beat him at a few games, and trust me he never went easy on me." Quinn explained, keeping her breath steady even as tears of panic and nerves stung her eyes. "I don't want to let him down. My dad, he loves basketball, when Charlie and I were kids he told Charlie to gather up a few friends that liked to play basketball and he set up a team. He thought them everything they needed to know, he watches every game. And then Charlie became this basketball legend! And I just don't know how I'll be able to look my dad in the eyes and tell him I didn't make the team. I don't know why I decided to tell him. It's just…he had just gotten off a really stressful phone call off work. And he did what he always does when he's stressed about work, he forgets about it while he's at home. He focuses on us. He looked at me and said 'so Quinnie, any exciting stuff going down at that old school of yours?' And I knew he wanted me to distract him from his stress, and I just had to do it. I couldn't let him be stressed, because…"

"Because what, Q? Does your dad have a bad heart or something? Does he have like, high blood pressure?" Puck asked, trying to help the blonde finish her though. Quinn clapped a hand onto her mouth to stifle a sob, she shook her head but held her breath so that she wouldn't cry. The Mo hawked boy put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, forget about it for now, you can tell me during lunch if you still want to."

Quinn didn't say anything; she just nodded and focused on calming down. By the time third period was over the only thing to remind her of what she was about to tell Puck were the feeling of dry tears. She fourth period, not really paying attention to anything. Between the nerves of try outs later today and what she was about to let out, she was already spent and it wasn't even lunch yet. She took a deep breath, at least she would get to be with her friends soon…and tell Puck what she was going to tell him. She sighed, trying to get herself to relax and stop having second thoughts about telling him. She let out most of the story earlier. She would maybe need to do a quick recap for Rachel and Kurt. Unless they met up with Puck first and he told them then, but she knows he'll be more discreet that that. He won't tell them anything without her there to make sure what he tells them is okay by her, even if he does know that she trusts them with her life.

She was pretty sure she either fell asleep or spaced out really, really badly during fourth period, because she felt like it only took five minutes before class was over. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the class. She hadn't even bothered taking out her notebook because she knew that her mind was too cloudy to take notes. She made her way to the cafeteria and saw her three friends already there, chatting and waiting for her.

"Hey guys." She says quietly. Rachel didn't say a word to her; she just gave her a sad look and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked her softly into her ear.

"Puck told you huh?" She asked.

"Yeah." Rachel breathed out gently.

"I hope you don't mind Q, I just thought you know, you might not have the energy to start from the top." Puck said eyes full of worry for his friend. She nodded at him, indicating that it was okay. It was like he read her mind. She pulled back from Rachel as Kurt came up next to her.

"Quinn, is this about that thing with your dad you had told me last year?" Kurt asked her, a hand on her shoulder. Quinn nodded at him slowly and he nodded back, understanding everything. He hugged her tightly but briefly. He linked his arm with hers as all four of them walked into the cafeteria together. They got their lunch quickly and sat at their usual table.

"Okay, so Puck told us what you told him in third period." Rachel reminded her. "So, what's up with your dad? Is he okay?"

"He's fine." Quinn said, her voice cracked, she took a sip of her water before continuing. "I just, I never like seeing him stressed."

"But the way you said it Q, something's up with him isn't it?" Puck asked. Kurt knew the whole story, but he knew it wasn't his place to tell them, it was Quinn's and no one else's. What he could do was sit across from her and hold her hand as she spoke, and that's exactly what he did.

"Because I'm scared that if he's stressed he'll start drinking again." Quinn said softly, barely above a whisper, but Puck and Rachel strained their ears to hear her, because they just wouldn't ask her to repeat herself if it was this hard to say.

"So he had a drinking problem before?" Rachel asked, confirming her assumptions. Quinn nodded and wiped away a stray tear.

"I was twelve, Charlie was fifteen. His business was in real trouble, they were afraid of going bankrupt. He was stressed constantly with meetings and presentations and just everything he had to do to keep his business up, because it was our livelihood." Quinn explained. Tears fell freely down her cheeks, now going completely ignored. Rachel adjusted herself so that she was facing Quinn directly and wiped away a tear from the cheek which she could reach without Quinn turning her head towards her. She was staring at a blank spot on her table as she spoke, totally spaced out as her mind recalls the night that she's about to tell her friends about. But Rachel's thumb brushing against her cheek doesn't go unnoticed.

"Anyway, because of everything he had started drinking. At first it was just one drink a night after dinner, you know to take the edge off?" Quinn said, not looking up, but she registered Puck nod.

"Go on." Rachel whispered softly to her, her hand going for Quinn's right as her left was caught in Kurt's comforting grip.

"But after that, well it got worse, one turned to two, two turned to four and four turned to…to…" A sob escaped Quinn's lips and it takes everything in Rachel's being not to grab her and let her curl up into her lap. Instead she settled for squeezing the blonde's hand and rubbing her thumb along the top of it. Quinn took in a deep breath and went on. "To him passing out every night, either in his study or on the sofa or God knows where."

"When did he start getting better?" Rachel asked. "You said he used to drink, not anymore, so when did he stop?"

"It was one night, after dinner. Charlie knew all about dad's problem, he was fifteen, he knew. So did I, but I just didn't want to believe it, he's my dad, he was my hero when I was a kid. He was already drunk by dinner time that night and he was acting weird, slurring his words, grumbling, sayings stuff that didn't even make sense. I was sick of it, and so was Charlie. We asked mom if we could be excused from the table and we both went up to his room. We just tried to ignore it, we started playing a video game on his computer 'cause he wanted to cheer me up. That's when it happened."

_-flashback-_

_Quinn, twelve years old and Charlie, fifteen, were sitting on Charlie's bed, video game controllers in hand as they played a street fighting game. They didn't want to think about what happened at dinner and they turned up the volume on the speakers as loud as possible so that they would drown out their mother's angry yelling at their father coming from the kitchen. But halfway through the video game, Quinn just hit pause, turning of the game's sounds and threw herself into the pillows, tears flowing from her eyes. Charlie turned over to her and rubbed her back, telling her that everything would be okay and doing everything to get his little sister to stop crying because his heart broke when he saw tears leave her eyes._

_That's when they heard it._

_"Shut up Judy! Just shut up!" Their father, Russell Fabray yelling, albeit slurred._

_A loud slap, and a shriek from their mother. Charlie opened the door and they came running down the stairs. Their mother was kneeling, holding her cheek as tears spilled from her eyes furiously. Their father stood crying as well, rambling on about being sorry and how he didn't mean for all of this to happen. Charlie took one look at his distraught mother and then remembered Quinn's tears from just a minute ago upstairs. And his anger peaked._

_"Dad!" He yelled loudly, his deep voice booming in the house. "Get it the fuck together! You're tearing this family apart!"_

_And with that Charlie kneeled beside his mother and helped her up, leading her and Quinn upstairs into his room. Quinn curled up into her mother's lap as soon as she was sitting on Charlie's bed. Tears constantly spilling from her eyes. Her mother held her tightly, resting her chin on Quinn's golden head. She shushed her softly as she ran a hand through the soft golden locks of her daughter._

_"It's okay Quinnie, everything will be okay, I promise." Her mother's gentle voice whispered, comforting Quinn._

_Then she began singing her the lullaby that she would sing to her when she was a baby and she was upset. And Quinn's tears subsided to soft sobs, and then stopped altogether as sleep took her over in her mother's arms._

_-End flashback-_

"The next day, mom found dad on the couch of the living room. When he woke up she made him a cup of coffee so that he would get over is hangover. Then she gave him an ultimatum: Either he checks into rehab to get better, or she takes the both of us and leaves him. I remember I had walked into the living room to watch cartoons with Charlie and he saw us. I looked at him and he looked me in the eyes, and he started to cry. He agreed to check into rehab. We spent a few weeks without him at home, visiting him on weekends while he got better. That was around the time when Charlie joined the team, and by the time dad came back, he was made team captain." Quinn stopped to take a deep breath, licking her lips before she went on.

"Ever since the day he came back, we keep all the liquor in our house locked up, and my mom keeps the key in a place not even Charlie or I know, because she just doesn't want to risk dad finding out. And he never tried looking. He kept his promise, so from then on he stopped dealing with his work troubles when he got home. But every now and again he gets the odd phone call and he's stressed out again, that's when he asks us if there's anything interesting going on at school, or if we did anything fun during the day. Because he wants to distract himself and forget his work while he's at home. And I just couldn't keep it from him, the fact that I'm trying out for the team, because I knew that's just what he needed to hear; something to be happy about, something to look forward to."

"So you told him you were trying out." Rachel finished for her and Quinn nodded.

"I could see it in his face, the minute I told him." Quinn breathed out. "His face lit up, he was so happy, I could see the idea of going to games to watch me play. And I was happy too, because he said he was proud of me, the fact that I wanted to try out despite everything that could set me back. I just…I just don't want to have to tell him that I didn't make the team, it would crush him, he wants this for me, and I want to do it for him."

"And you will." Puck voice was soft, gentle, yet determined. "You will Q!"

"Yeah." Rachel nodded.

"You're going to go into that gym today and play your heart out and you're not coming out of there until you have a basketball jersey, got it?" Puck said. She looked up at the Mo hawked boy and couldn't help but smile at him, and at Rachel and at Kurt. They wanted this for her as much as her father did, but now they want it for both her and her father. She took a deep breath.

"Come here." Rachel said, gaining her attention. "Turn around."

Quinn complied, turning ninety degrees on her chair to look at Rachel. The brunette cupped her cheeks, wiping away the last few stray tears, and then she pulled her into a tight hug.

"You're going to do great, I just know it!" Rachel whispered gently into the blonde's ear.

"But how can you be so sure?" Quinn mumbled into Rachel shoulder. The shorter girl pulled back a bit, cupping Quinn's cheek again and smiling at her as brown orbs met hazel ones.

"A really smart blonde once told me that when you're passionate about something, you fight for it." Rachel reminded her. Quinn couldn't help but smile as her heart swelled at the fact that Rachel remembered what she had told her exactly one week ago. She didn't say anything, she just nodded to the brunette, who smiled at her and hugged her again.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, and painfully slow. Quinn had calmed down since lunch, but the nerves about try outs were still there. They were there when she got up in the morning and they stayed there even as she walked through the gym door, already in her jersey and short and sneakers. As she walked to the bench to leave her bag there, she looked up and saw Kurt and Rachel sitting in the bleachers, waiting for her.

"Can I get your name sweetheart?" the coach, coach Beiste, asked her when she noticed that she had walked in. She looked tough and scary, but in reality she was really sweet unless you messed with her, kind of like an older female version of Puck without all the dirty jokes.

"Umm, Quinn Fabray." She told her with a smile. The coach reached up and picked up her pencil from behind her ear, ticking off her name.

"Fabray huh?" Coach Beiste asked, looking at the name with a thoughtful look. "Any relation to Charlie Fabray?"

"Yeah." Quinn said with a blush, looking down for a moment. "He's uh, he's my brother."

"You're kidding me." The coach said with a smile and a chuckle. "You're Charlie Fabray's little sister? Well I should have known, you're got the same hair and the same amazing eyes."

"Umm, thanks." Quinn said, blushing a bit more now.

"You think you have his skills?" the coach asked her gently.

"Well, he thought me everything I know." Quinn shrugged, finally looking back up at the coach.

"Damn, I might as well send everyone else home!" the coach chuckled. "We could really use the Fabray flare on our team."

"Well, hopefully I have enough flare then." Quinn giggled. The coach chuckled and smiled at her.

"Sense of humor runs in the family too does it?" Coach asked, Quinn just shrugged. "So how's Charlie doing?"

"He's okay, off at college, you know." Quinn shrugged again. Coach nodded with a smile.

"You know, now that I think about it, I think I remember seeing you and your parents sitting up in those bleachers during a game. Charlie had just scored the winning shot and I think I saw your dad lifting you up on his shoulders as you held up a poster saying 'Go Fabray 4'" Coach said, smiling at the girl that stood in front of her with her hair tied back in a tight pony tail.

"Yeah, I remember that, you know we still have that old poster at home in our basement." Quinn smiled.

"Hey coach!" Puck's voice was heard as he jogged up to the two. "Hey Q!"

"Hey Puck." Quinn said with a smile as they grabbed each other's hands briefly in greeting.

"Puckerman!" Coach said a little loudly, grapping Puck's attention. "Why the hell didn't you tell me a Fabray was trying out?"

"You know how I'm full of surprises coach!" Puck smiled proudly.

"How about you surprise me by making a shot at some point huh?" the coach chuckled.

"Harsh!" Puck said, pretending to be insulted as he laughed along with his coach. Quinn knew immediately that the coach and Puck were on very good terms. Puck waved to Kurt and Rachel who were watching the exchanges from afar.

"Go sit and watch with your friends!" Coach Beiste said to Puck.

"Thanks coach, hey good luck Quinn, not that you need it!" Puck said, clapping a hand on her shoulder gently.

"Thanks Puck!" Quinn said as he went up to the bleachers to sit next to Rachel and Kurt.

"Them two your friends?" Coach asked.

"Yeah, they want to be here for moral support." Quinn nodded.

"You know they've been here since the last bell rang? I came in and found them here waiting." Coach said.

"Wow, really?" Quinn asked, looking up at her three friends.

"I don't know about you Quinn, but when I see friends being this excited for something, it tells me that they believe in whoever their friend is." Coach told her.

"Yeah they're pretty optimistic, I just hope I don't let them down. I know being a girl isn't exactly the easiest thing-"

"Woah, woah now, easy there little lady, girls can do just as much as guys can in sports. If you're worried about the fact that you're a girl, you can relax." Coach cut her off. "It's not what I'm going to be considering when you're out there, it's your skills. You keep that in mind you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Quinn said with a smile and a small salute. Coach Beiste chuckled at the gesture.

"Alright, well, go stretch a little okay? Limber up, you don't want to be stiff, I wouldn't want a Fabray to get a cramp on my court." Coach said.

"Gotcha coach!" Quinn nodded.

"And good luck, give it your best okay?" Coach advised.

"I kind of have to." Quinn said with a smile, then looking up at Rachel. "I promised her."

Coach Beiste looked up at the girl Quinn was talking about and then looked back at the blonde.

"She your girl or something?" coach asked.

"No." Quinn shook her head gently, bringing her eyes back down to the coach. "Just a really good friend who has a lot of faith in me."

"Go stretch, you want to make your friends and family proud don't you?" coach asked her with a smirk. Quinn nodded and went to the sidelines and began stretching. Then she saw as her friends were watching her stretch and she continued, only making ridiculous faces and gestures to make them laugh. This went on for ten minutes till coach Beiste blew her whistle, calling all those who were trying out to a circle center court.

"Okay, we have four people and three positions. Here's what we'll do." Coach began, then looked at her clip board to recite how she sorted out the players.

"Okay, we have Fabray versus Mitchell and Lucas versus Porter." She called out. "We'll start with Fabray and Mitchell."

"Woah, hold up coach, you're putting me up against a girl?" the one she realized to be Mitchell said, pointing at Quinn. "Why don't you just give me the position right now and save her the embarrassment!"

"Watch your mouth Mitchell!" Coach Beiste called. "That's not any girl you're talking about there, that's Charlie Fabray's sister!"

"Man whatever, I could probably beat THE Charlie Fabray in my sleep!" Mitchell claimed proudly.

"Well unfortunately he's all the way at Columbia right now, so you'll have to settle for me." Quinn snapped.

"Fine!" Mitchell said, taking his position center court. Coach Beiste grabbed the basketball off the bench it the sidelines and held it up between them.

"Okay, first one to get to six points wins." Coach stated. They both nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry little girl." Mitchell said with a chuckle. "I'll go easy on you."

Quinn sneered at him as Coach Beiste blew her whistle and threw the ball up. Quinn launched herself off the floor and smacked her hand down on the ball, scooping it away from Mitchell and dribbling past him, running up to the net he was supposed to be defending and jumped while launching the ball into the air, a nice curve into the hoop with a slap of the net. She landed and turned in time to see Mitchell stare, gob smacked, at the shot.

"Two nothing for Fabray, you still feeling lucky Mitchell?" Puck cheered from the bleachers. Quinn laughed as she ran for the layup. Mitchell picked up the ball and dribbled it right towards her, faking left hesitantly and then switching for the right. But Quinn anticipated it and jogged up next to him. He launched the ball into the air and Quinn jumped to catch it. She just grazed it with her fingers and it hit the metal hoop, crashing into the ground again. Quinn spotted it immediately and charged for it, dribbling it up the court again with Mitchell on her trail. He charged forward and blocked her as she jumped and tried to shoot. But he jumped up and knocked his upper body into her chest, sending her flying to the floor. Coach Beiste whistled and stopped the play, walking up to the quickly.

"You okay Fabray?" she asked as Quinn got up, wiping her brow with her hand.

"All good coach." She answered.

"Mitchell, one more stunt like that and it's off this court with a pink slip for a week of detention!" Coach threatened. Mitchell didn't say anything, he just scowled at the blonde in front of him. "Get back to the game, and I want it clean and fair, are we clear?"

Mitchell and Quinn nodded firmly as coach grabbed the ball and handed it to Quinn. She took the ball and dribbled it again, gaining momentum as she ran around Mitchell and shot the ball straight up into the net. Her three friends cheered and whistled from the bleachers as she ran for the layup. This time, Mitchell didn't hesitate when he faked and was able to fool her into letting him score. She grabbed the ball and dribbled it up the court again, through her legs for speed. Once the ball hit her right hand and she's close enough to the net, she lifts it up and is about to throw it up when Mitchell jumped up in front of her and snatched the ball, dribbling up the court again. She took a deep breath and ran up to Mitchell as fast as she could, hot on his trail. She followed him as he dribbled the ball all the way up in front of the net and threw it. She jumped behind him and snatched the ball from over his head. He was completely blind sighted when the ball disappeared from in front of him. Quinn dribbled the ball up the court again.

"Go Q! You can do it!" Puck yelled excitedly. Quinn's breath by now was rapid and shallow. She dribbled the ball through her legs again as she closed the distance between her and the net. But Mitchell ran up by her side and slipped in front of her. Her instincts kicked in and she launched herself off the ground. She had no idea where the strength in her legs came from, or how she managed to fly the last few inches between her and the net. But what she did know was that she had just dunked the ball into the net, scoring her sixth point.

But no one cheered, because they were all gob smacked. She turned around and looked at the people around her. They all sat or stood there looking at her, jaws ajar. Everyone, Mitchell, Coach Beiste, her three best friends that were sitting on the bleachers. Even Lucas and Porter who sat down in the sidelines waiting for their turn. Then all of a sudden, Rachel, Kurt and Puck burst out into cheers, Puck whistling loudly as they clapped and jumped like three insane monkeys. Quinn's face broke out in a smile that threatened to break her face in half. Mitchell huffed and marched to the sidelines to sit down, his arms crossed.

"Okay, good job Fabray!" Coach said happily, clapping her on the back.

"Thanks coach!" Quinn said happily.

"Okay now go sit with your friends! Lucas! Porter! You're up! Winner of this match will go against Fabray, loser against Mitchell. Whoever wins those will be on the team, and the remaining two will play it out for the last position!" Coach Beiste explained to them Quinn grabbed her water bottle and ran up to the bleachers to sit next to her three friends.

"You were awesome out there Q!" Puck said, giving her a high five.

"Quinn that was amazing!" Rachel said standing up and wrapping her arms around the blonde.

"Yeah dude that was so freakin' mind blowing the way you duked that last one!" Puck said excitedly.

"You've seen me dunk before." Quinn dismissed.

"Yeah, but that was with the net out back!" Puck said. "That thing is way lower than regulation hoops."

"You flew!" Rachel said giddily.

"It's like your shoes sprouted wings!" Kurt said. "Like Hermes!"

"Isn't that and STD?" Puck asked.

"No, that's a Greek god, what you're thinking of is herpes." Rachel corrected. Puck nodded in understanding.

"And I did not fly, I jumped…really, really high." Quinn shrugged.

"Well it worked! You're a step closer Q! Today you go home a basketball team member!" Puck said happily as Quinn drank from her water bottle.

"Chill, man, I've got one more game against…one of those two." Quinn said, gesturing towards the two players that chased each other with the ball on the court behind her.

"I'm just happy you beat Mitchell! How dare he say you're not good!" Rachel said, arms crossed.

"Chill, Rach, it's over now." Quinn said, putting a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder.

"I just hate it when people are so prejudiced you know?" Rachel shrugged.

"I know, but thanks." Quinn smiled at her. Rachel smiled back and hugged the blonde again.

They sat and watched as Lucas and Porter played, watching how each player moved, trying to figure out which of the two was going to win. Porter was taller, however Lucas seemed just a bit more coordinated, Porter was a fast runner, but his hands kept fumbling with the ball, it slipped out of his hands twice throughout the entire one on one match.

Eventually the match ended with Lucas winning. Coach Beiste looked over to the four friends sitting at the bleachers and signaled for Quinn to come down. She nodded and didn't waste any time.

"Okay Fabray, you're up against Lucas now. Win this one and you're on the team." Coach said with a smirk and a hand went up to the blonde's shoulder. "Think you're up for it?"

Quinn looked into her coach's eyes. Was she up for it? She had been practicing all the day before. She had the guts to tell her dad even though she didn't want to disappoint him. She had the guts to tell Kurt and Rachel even though she didn't want to go through all that 'I'm sorry you didn't make the team' sympathy. And her gut told her she might be able to do this. And that's when her confidence peaked. Because she was able to beat Mitchell who called her out for being a girl. Because she had told all the people she loved that she would be trying out, even though she didn't want to disappoint them. In the back of her mind, she knew she had this in her, she just didn't realize it until the last minute.

_Think you're up for it?_

"Hell yes." Quinn responded with a firm nod. She felt the coach's hand give her an affirming squeeze on her shoulder, pulsing more confidence through her.

"Okay, get out there." Coach gestured to center court with a jerk of her head. Quinn nods again and jogs to center court. Lucas looks at her.

"Hey, good luck Fabray." He said, holding a hand out to her. She looked at him for a second, shocked.

"Uh, thanks, you too!" she nodded, shaking his hand quickly before coach came up with the ball.

"Okay, you know the rules, first to six wins. Winner is on the team. Good luck." She said quickly, looking at both of them to make sure they understood. Then she blew the whistle and threw the ball up. Quinn and Lucas both launched themselves off the ground, their hands flying up for the ball. Lucas was quicker though, and grabbed it first, dribbling down the court and flinging the ball at the board. It would have been perfect, it would have gotten him his two first points. But he threw it too hard, and when it hit the black box in the middle of the board, it launched off the board and back to the court, never touching the net. Quinn ran up and caught the ball, turning quickly and dribbling up the court. Lucas came up to her side and turned as he slipped in front of her, effectively blocking her. She dribbled the ball in place for a second, then alternating hands and between her legs until she had a plan. She threw the ball behind Lucas, bouncing it on the court so that it flew up five feet after hitting the floor. Lucas was caught off guard, and before he could even blink she had turned behind him and caught the ball, dribbling it up the rest of the way and scoring her first shot,

"Nice one Fabray!" Lucas said with an impressed smile.

"Thanks." Quinn smiled at him as she passed him for the layup. Lucas picked up the ball and dribbled. She tried to block him, but he somehow managed to get around her and shoot.

They were tied. Quinn grabbed the ball as Lucas ran up the court for the layup, she dribbled and ran as fast as she could, wanting to get this over with. Focus Fabray.

"You can do it Quinn!" Rachel's voice was heard across the court. Her heart swelled, as did her ego.

_You can do this._

She ran up the last part of the court and jumped as she launched the ball into the air.

_Swish. _And the ball was in. Four points in and two to go. She could do this.

She jogged up for the layup and watched as Lucas dribbled up to her. Half court and she was in front of him trying desperately to distract him. But…

He jumped, threw the ball.

She didn't even turn around.

_Swish._

He scored his fourth point from half court. Her eyes grew wide. She took a deep breath and ran up for the ball.

She could do this…

She could do this right?

"Come on Q! You've got this!" Rachel's voice echoed in the gym again.

_You've got this. _It echoed again in her head.

**_You heard her._**

_I've got this._

She dribbled up, running at the maximum speed her legs would allow. Everything by her sides was a huge blur as she focused on the net as she ran up. Her heart thumped in her chest and everything else went quiet. Lucas came up in front of her and she didn't even think as she turned her back towards him, dribbled and turned away from him. She continued her charge. Jump, throw.

Everything went in slow motion.

Her feet touched the ground, eyes fixed on the ball.

It flew through the air in a curve, and then…

_Swish._

She scored. Six points and everything went quiet until her friends' cheering was registered in her mind, they went wild with excitement and relief and happiness. She just stared at the net, silent.

**_You did it!_**

_I did it?_

"You did it Q!" Rachel's voice was heard screaming, and she snapped out of her haze.

"Nice job Fabray." Lucas said with a smile as he came up to her, holding his hand out again. "Here's to being on the team with you."

"Thanks." She said, still semi-distant in disbelief.

"You know, you're good, no wonder you're a Fabray." He said, patting her shoulder.

"Thanks, hey good luck, you're good too!" She returned with a wide smile.

"I look forward to following the Fabray legacy, part two!" He said with a smile as he walked to the bench.

"Good job Fabray!" Coach Beiste said as she came up from behind her.

"Thanks coach!" She said.

"Welcome to the team!" she said. Though it still didn't fully register in her mind.

"Thanks." Quinn replied,

"Guess you can tell your old man to bring out that old poster huh?" Coach said with a smile.

"I guess so." Quinn said with a chuckle.

"Alright, now get out of here, go celebrate with your friends!" coach said.

"You got it coach!" Quinn nodded happily.

"Good girl!" And Quinn?" Coach said before the blonde was too far.

"Yeah coach?" Quinn turned back to the woman.

"Practice is every Tuesday and Thursday at four, don't be late tomorrow got it? Otherwise you'll have to tell Schuester that we're going to have a problem." The coach chuckled.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Quinn shook her head, then turned around and picked her stuff up from the bench. She glanced briefly at Mitchell, who slumped back in his seat with an annoyed look on his face, and she couldn't help but smirk proudly at herself. Suddenly she snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a warm, small body fling itself around her.

"You did it! You made the team!" Rachel's excited squealing came into her mind.

_I made the team…_

Then it hit her. She did it. She made the team. She could go home and tell her dad that she would be playing basketball for the rest of the year. She'll see him smile proudly and hug her as he always did.

She'll be able to call Charlie and tell him that she'd be on the team.

She did it.

"Oh my God." She whispered out loud.

"What?" Rachel asked her with an excited smile.

"I did it." Quinn mumbled out.

"You did it Q!" Rachel squealed out a confirmation of her own statement. She tightened her grip around her. Quinn turned in her arms and hugged her tightly in ecstasy.

"I did it!" She cheered.

"You were amazing out there!" Kurt said through happy giggles.

"You're on the team Q!" Puck celebrated. He high fived her from behind Rachel's back.

"Come back to my place!" She said to them.

"Why?" Rachel asked, more out of curiosity. Quinn looked at the time and realized her dad would be home from work soon, and her mother would be there as well.

"My dad will be home soon, I want you guys to meet him and my mom. I want you guys to be there when I tell him!" Quinn said with a smile.

"That's so sweet! I'm in!" Rachel said with a happy giggle.

"Me too!" Puck said.

"Quinn your mother wants to adopt me, of course I'm in!" Kurt said with a chuckle. Quinn pulled back from Rachel and hugged him and then Puck before she grabbed the last of her stuff.

"Okay, let me go get changed and we can go." Quinn said. She ran off to the locker room, changed back into her jeans, t-shirt and converse and walked back out to her friends waiting by the door. They went to her house and found her mother starting up on dinner.

"Mom?" She called in as she put her jacket on the coat hanger by the door and dropped her bag by it as well.

"In the kitchen sweetie!" her mother called in. "How did tryouts go?"

"Hang on mom, I want you to meet some people first!" Quinn said, leading her three friends to the kitchen.

"Oh you brought friends?" Judy said as she turned around to see her daughter lead in Kurt and two new people she never met.

"Yeah mom." Quinn said happily, going over to her and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hello Kurt." She said happily to the boy, going over and giving him a hug.

"Hey Mrs. Fabray." He said as he hugged her.

"Kurt." She said, giving him a stern look but with a smile.

"Oh, right, sorry, Hey Judy." He corrected himself.

"That's better." She said, hugging him again before pulling back and turning to the two new faces in front of her.

"Mom," Quinn began. "These are my friends, Rachel and Puck."

"It's very nice to meet you." She said holding out her hand to Rachel.

"It's nice to meet you too Mrs. Fabray." Rachel said, taking her hand and shaking it.

"Oh please, any friends of Quinn's are family to me, so call me Judy!" she said happily as she turned to Puck.

"It's nice to meet you Judy!" Puck said happily as he shook the older blonde's hand. "Now I know where Q gets her good looks!"

"Oh, now you've got me blushing!" Judy fussed. "Puck hmm? That's a very unique name."

"Oh it's actually a nickname, my first name is Noah, but my last name is Puckerman, my friends call me Puck." The Mo hawked boy explained.

"Yes because he wants everyone to believe he's a badass." Quinn explained further. "When really, he's as dangerous as a puppy."

Judy giggled and Puck looks down with a blush. The front door was heard closing.

"Judy, I'm home!" A deep voice was heard cheerfully announcing.

"Dad!" Quinn said happily, running out of the kitchen to the front door. She wrapped her arms around him cheerfully.

"Well hey there sweetheart how'd-" Russell began as he hugged his daughter hello.

"Not yet dad!" Quinn cut him off. "Come on!"

"Well someone's excited for dinner!" Russell chuckled as he wondered why his daughter was so happily tugging him into the kitchen.

"Not for that dad! I brought friends I want you to meet!" Quinn said as they re-appeared in the kitchen. All four of them smiled as the older blonde man looked over them.

"Welcome home darling." Judy said as she wrapped her arms around her husband and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you dear." He said as he hugged his wife lovingly. Rachel couldn't help but smile at the sweet exchange. She looked over to Quinn, who smiled at the sight of her parents happily. Suddenly she felt happy for the girl. She remembered the story she was told at lunch and suddenly found it unbelievable that such a horrible thing in the past could lead to such a beautiful thing now. She wanted to save this picture forever in her mind, the image of Quinn smiling so happily as her parents hugged each other, glad to see each other after a day of work.

"So, Quinnie, who're your friends?" Her dad asked as her mother pulled back from her husband's arms.

"Oh." Quinn said, snapping out of her own thoughts. "dad, this is Rachel and Puck."

"Don't let the name confuse you dear, his name is actually Noah, but everyone calls him Puck because his last name is Puckerman." Judy explained to her husband with a smile. Russell looked at his wife again before chuckling and extending his hand to the two new faces in front of him.

"It's nice to meet you two!" He said as Rachel shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too Mr. Fabray." She said with a smile.

"Oh please! Mr. Fabray is my father! Call me Russell!" he chuckled happily at the small brunette.

"Okay." Rachel nodded as she looked down shyly, brushing a hair out of her face.

"It's nice to meet you sir!" Puck said as he took the older man's hand in his and shook it firmly.

"Nice to meet you too, Noah who everyone calls Puck." Russell said quick. Puck let out a loud laugh as Russell patted his shoulder. Then he turned to Kurt.

"Kurt! My boy! How are you?" he said as he hugged the smaller boy.

"It's great to see you again Russ, I'm fine thanks for asking, how have you been?" Kurt asked as he was engulfed in the older man's happy embrace.

"I've been good." Russell answered.

"So, will you guys join us for dinner?" Judy asked, looking at all three of her daughters friends.

"Oh we don't want to impose." Rachel said.

"Oh please, who's imposing?" Judy waved off. "It would be a pleasure to have you."

"Well in that case, we'd love to!" Puck said happily.

"Yeah, let me just go call my dads quickly to let them know." Rachel said.

"Dads? As in, plural?" Russell asked her with the signature Fabray eyebrow raise.

"uh." Rachel stuttered. She hadn't even thought about what their opinion on same sex couples were. She gulped. "Y-yes sir."

"Oh! I know who you are now! You're Leroy Berry's kid aren't you?" he said happily. She nodded, still not sure where this was going. "Good Hiram and Leroy how are they?"

"Th-they're good, sir." Rachel said quickly.

"Sir? Oh relax sweetheart!" Russell said, realizing how nervous the small brunette was all of a sudden. "Just 'cause we're catholic doesn't mean we look down on people for who they love!"

Rachel let out a sigh of relief as she smiled shyly at Russell.

"You know, your daddy Leroy and I were in college together back at Yale!" Russell said with a happy chuckle at the memory. "Imagine my surprise when I find him in in Lima!"

"You were in college with her dad?" Quinn asked with her own hitched eyebrow.

"Oh you've heard me talk about Leroy! Though you might know him as psycho Berry or 'my lunatic of a roommate.' We came up with the craziest pranks!" Russell said, shaking his head at the memory of Leroy's hijinks.

"Oh yeah!" Quinn nodded.

"So wait, does that make you Rottweiler Russell then?" Rachel said happily.

"You know my old nickname!" Russell said happily. "That's me! They called me Rottweiler cause I would bark loudly at anyone who tried to mess with my friends!"

"Aww, that's so sweet." Rachel said with a giggle.

"Go on and call your dads sweetheart, let them know you're fine and tell Leroy I said 'what's up sasquatch?' That's another nickname we called him 'cause he's so Gosh darned tall." Russell chuckled again.

"I'll let him know!" Rachel giggled as she pulled out her cellphone and pressed speed dial number one. The phone rang as she walked out to the hall to make the call. After three rings there was a crack and an answer.

"Hello, Leroy Berry speaking." Her daddy's voice came through the phone.

"Hey daddy! It's me." She said into the phone.

"Me who? And why you callin' me daddy? The only kid I have is this annoying little thing called Rachel." Leroy said with a fake serious tone. She giggled into the phone.

"Daddy! It's me Rachel." She said.

"Oh I know sweetheart! Are you okay? You were supposed to be home by now." Leroy asked.

"I'm fine daddy, actually that's what I was calling about." Rachel said. "You know my new friend Quinn? Well she brought me over to meet her parents and you'll never guess who her dad is!"

"Hugh Jackman?!" Her father asked with fake excitement. She burst out in laughter.

"No daddy!" Rachel said through a giggle. "It's Russell Fabray!"

"Old Rottweiler?" Leroy asked in amazement. "Well I'll be a monkey's uncle! You never told me your friend was a Fabray!"

"Well she is, and her mother invited me to stay for dinner." Rachel explained. "I was calling to ask if it's okay with you and dad."

"Oh it's fine, I'll let your father know." Leroy said. "You have fun sweetheart!"

"Thanks, oh and daddy?" Rachel said suddenly remembering the message she was to pass along.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Russell said, 'what's up sasquatch?'" she said with a giggle.

"Good old Russell! You tell him I said 'Nothin' short stump, what's up with you?' " Leroy said with a chuckle.

"Will do daddy." Rachel said.

"Thank you sweetheart, see you later alright?" Leroy said. "I love you."

"Love you too daddy. Bye." Rachel said before hanging up and going back to the kitchen.

"Everything okay at home sweetie?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, and daddy said it would be fine to stay for dinner." Rachel said with a smile at the older blonde.

"Did you pass my message to Leroy?" Russell asked.

"Yeah, and he said, uhm, 'Nothing, short stump, what's up with you?'" Rachel said with a giggle as she scratched the back of her neck shyly. Russell let out a deep belly laugh.

"Oh good old Leroy! We'll have to catch up sometime!" Russell said with a chuckle. Quinn smiled at her dad who seemed so happy to re-connect with his friend from college.

"Umm, dad, mom, I have some news." Quinn said nervously, nibbling on her lip.

"What is it sweetheart?" Judy said, turning the flame down on the stove and turning back to give her daughter her full attention. Russell was looking at her intently with a quirked eyebrow.

"You know I had tryouts today for basketball." Quinn reminded them.

"How could we forget dear?" Judy asked.

"Well…" Quinn took in a deep breath. "I made the team!"

Russell's face lit up as his face broke out in a smile. Judy's eyes brightened.

"You made the team?!" her father repeated happily.

"Yeah!" Quinn nodded excitedly. Russell walked up to his daughter and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"That's amazing! I am so proud of you!" he said as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Thanks dad!" she said happily.

"You should have seen her Russell! She was on fire!" Kurt said excitedly.

"Hope you don't mean literally." Russell joked.

"No I mean figuratively." Kurt giggled at the older man.

"Though at the speed she was running" Puck shrugged as he chuckled. "She was the first out of the four to get chosen!"

"Is that so?" Russell said, smiling at his daughter who shrugged shyly. "Well, you've got Fabray blood in you don't you?"

"Yes sir!" Quinn said with a smile.

"Oh sweetheart I'm so happy for you." Judy said, coming over and hugging her daughter.

"I'm really happy too mom!" She said as she wrapped her arms around her mother's back.

"You have to let Charlie know!" Russell said.

"Yeah I was actually thinking of calling him." Quinn nodded as she pulled back from her mother.

"Why don't you go upstairs with your friends and do that then?" Judy said happily.

"Don't you guys want to talk to him?" Quinn asked.

"Oh he called me earlier sweetheart, felt homesick, he wanted to talk to you but he knew you were at school." Judy said.

"You didn't tell him did you? I wanted to surprise him!" Quinn said.

"I thought you might, so I kept quiet." Judy said to her daughter, winking knowingly. Quinn smiled.

"Okay! Come on guys, let's go to my room!" She said, ushering her friends up the stairs and into her bedroom. Kurt did what he usually does and flopped down on the bed. Quinn sat on her computer and logged on to skype as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. "You guys can sort of meet Charlie too. Though it'll be through a computer."

"This is going to be awesome!" Puck punched the air happily. Quinn shook her head with a chuckle as she texted her brother.

"Shit! I almost forgot, hang on guys!" Quinn said, quickly running out of her room and down the stiars.

"Is everything okay sweetie?" Judy said when she heard her daughter running down the stairs.

"Actually, mom, I forgot to tell you, Rachel's a vegan!" Quinn told her.

"Oh that's okay, I was making pesto tonight!" Judy smiled at her daughter.

"Perfect! Thanks mom!" Quinn said, running up the stairs again. She was met with Rachel smiling at her at the top of the stairs. "What?"

"You remembered." Rachel shrugged.

"Of course I remembered!" Quinn said.

"You're sweet." Rachel said, still smiling at the girl as they walked back into Quinn's room. Her phone buzzed, telling her she had a text. She read it and sat at her computer again. Pretty soon her computer chimed, telling her she was getting a call. She clicked accept and suddenly her brother's face filled her screen.

"Hey bro!" She said happily.

"'Sup lil' sis?" Charlie said happily.

"Oh not much." Quinn fake shrugged.

"What aren't you telling me?" Charlie asked her.

"Why do you assume I'm hiding something?" Quinn asked innocently.

"Because you have that 'I have something awesome to tell you.' Look." Charlie chuckled.

"I brought friends over for dinner." Quinn said, trying to change the subject.

"As in plural? Color me surprised." Charlie said simply with a chuckle.

"Hey." Quinn said, feigning being insulted.

"Oh I'm teasing!" Charlie said. "Now tell me what you _really_ want to tell me!"

"The school's basketball try outs were today." Quinn told him, trying to hide her smile.

"And?" Charlie encouraged her to go on.

"And I may or may not have made the team." Quinn shrugged.

"Quinn?" Charlie asked her, excitement brimming.

"Okay, okay." Quinn surrendered. "I totally made the team!"

"That's amazing!" Charlie said as he cheered. "The Fabray legacy lives on!"

"It was so awesome! There was this one guy who thought he could take you on, I totally kicked his ass!" Quinn laughed at the sight of her brother doing a little happy dance in his chair.

"Aww, you defended my honor!" Charlie said.

"Both of ours, he thought I couldn't handle it cause I'm a girl." Quinn told him.

"Yeah but you're not just any girl! You're a Fabray! The pride of a lion pumps through your veins!" Charlie said, his words filled with pride and enthusiasm.

"Hell yeah!" Quinn cheered into her laptop's microphone.

"So what made you want to join the team?" Charlie asked her.

"Well I was playing basketball with my friend Puck and he told me I was good and encouraged me to try out." Quinn said, and saw Puck wave to the camera from behind her.

"Is Puck that guy waving from behind you?" Charlie said.

"Yes. That's the asshole." Quinn giggled.

"Hey!" Puck said, feigning being insulted.

"Nice to meet you Puck!" Charlie said.

"It's an honor to meet you dude!" Puck said happily, coming closer to the laptop. "You're a legend man!"

"Aww shucks, I was just a kid on the team!" Charlie waved off.

"Yeah but dude you were awesome!" Puck said.

"Dude will you stop having a total crush on my brother?" Quinn looked up at Puck.

"Will your brother stop being so cool?" Puck said. His eyed widened. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

"I'm sure." Quinn nodded and rolled her eyes before whispering "So gay."

"Shut up." Puck mumbled to her through his teeth.

"Hey you're cool Puck, it's good to know my sis has a new bro she can rely on while I'm not there…She can rely on you right?" Charlie asked.

"Of course dude!" Puck said. "I'd totally fuck anyone who messed with her up!"

"Good to hear Puck!" Charlie nodded. "So Q, got any other new friends?"

"Yeah, there's Rachel too!" Quinn said excitedly, gesturing over to Rachel to come into view. The brunette smiled at her shyly and came over.

"Woah, well aren't you a fine young thing?" Charlie said with a smile. Rachel could feel her face flare up as she looked down and shyly brushed a hair out of her face. "Good going Q, I never thought you'd be the one snagging up cheerleaders!"

"We're just friends you horndog!" Quinn chastised with a giggle.

"Whatever you say Q!" Charlie said with a giggle.

"We really are just friends." Rachel said.

"I know sweetheart I'm just kidding!" Charlie smiled. "It's nice too meet you."

"Nice to meet you too!" She said with a smile. Kurt came up from behind Quinn and playfully rested his chin on her head.

"Hey Charlie." He said.

"'Sup little man!" Charlie said, feeling like he was pulling the old nickname out of a box and dusting it off.

"How's Columbia?" Kurt asked.

"There are hot girls and free food, how do you think it is?" Charlie asked back with a chuckle.

"I meant academically, but okay." Kurt shrugged and giggled.

"Eh, you know, boring lectures, boring assignments, hot assignment partner." Charlie shrugged the rest of the sentence off as the four teens on his screen chuckled.

"Quinnie! Dinner!" Judy's voice came from downstairs. Quinn flinched at the nickname and her cheeks went red as her head fell into her hands.

"I'll talk to you later…Quinnie." Charlie said with a smirk. Quinn looked up and gave him a death glare. He laughed softly before he clicked 'end call' and disappeared.

"Come on, Quinnie, I'm starving." Puck patted her on the shoulder playfully.

"Shut it asshole." The blonde shoved him lightly.

"Aww, it's okay Quinnie, he's just teasing." Rachel giggled.

"I hate you guys." Quinn said.

"We love you too Quinnie." Kurt piped up.

"Shut it Hummel!" Quinn snapped playfully.

"Whatever you say Quinnie." Kurt said, trying his hardest to stifle his laughter. Quinn groaned in anguish.

"Okay, okay guys I think that's enough torture for one day." Rachel said to the boys.

"Thank you." Quinn sighed out.

"You're welcome…Quinnie." Rachel said, letting out burst of laughter. Quinn glared at her.

"Fuck you!" She snapped playfully again.

"Oh, you wish!" Rachel said with a giggle as she turned on her heel and walked out of the bedroom. Quinn's eyes bluged and she stared at the girl who was walking away.

"What?!" Quinn whispered loudly. Kurt and Puck looked at her.

"Dude, chill, she's joking." Puck said. Quinn shook her head, snapping herself out of it.

"I know. It's just…hearing her say it is weird you know?" Quinn sighed out.

"We know, now come on, I smell your mother's pesto and I'm hungry!" Kurt said, pushing her lightly out of the room and towards the stairs. They all walked into the kitchen where her father sat at the head of the table. Quinn took her usual seat on her dad's right and Judy on her left. Kurt sat next to Quinn and Rachel across from him, leaving Puck to sit opposite Russell at the other end of the table.

"What smells so good Judy?" Rachel asked her with a smile.

"Oh aren't you sweet!" Judy gushed. "I made my home made pesto, it's Quinnie's favorite."

Quinn blushed again as she heard Kurt stifle his laughter. She lifted her foot and brought it down on his, hard. He jumped at the sudden pain in his foot and pretended to cough, grabbing his glass of water and taking a long sip.

"You okay dude?" Puck asked him.

"Just a little tickle." Kurt smiled at the Mo hawked boy, who nodded in understanding as Judy began serving each one of them.

"This looks so good Judy!" Puck said as she placed a full plate in front of him.

"Wait till you try it! Your taste buds are going to die and go to heaven!" Kurt said at the memory of how good Judy's food tasted.

"Oh will you stop! You're all making me blush!" Judy said, her hands going up to her cheeks that were tinted a light pink. She picked up the last plate and placed it in front of herself as she sat down. "Usually we'd say grace before eating, but Russell just informed me that the Berrys are Jewish. So we decided to skip it for tonight."

"Oh you don't have to-" Rachel was about to say.

"No, no, dear if there's one thing we understand it's different religions, we don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." Judy said, placing a gentle hand on Rachel's arm.

"I've got an idea." Puck said and all eyes turned to him. "Well I'm Jewish too, but my mom has friends who are catholic and we came up with a prayer that doesn't specify to anything but God. We can say that if you want."

"That's a wonderful idea Puck! We can say that from now on when either you or Rachel have dinner with us!" Judy smiled at the boy, who smiled back at her. "Would you lead us then?"

"Of course, umm, we general hold hands instead of placing them together." Puck explained.

"Well isn't that sweet!" Judy smiled at him. They each connected hands with their neighbor and closed their eyes and bowed their heads. Puck began to recite the prayer he had learned over the years.

"Dear God, we thank you for providing us with this blessing of food, and thank you also for bringing us together once again. We pray that you forgive us for any wrongs he have done throughout the day and that you bless us by allowing us to be joined like this again in the future. In your name we pray, amen." He recited.

"Amen." They all repeated together and then looked up. Quinn took a deep breath, her heart full. Something about that prayer made her feel so blessed to have all her new friends and her family brought together. Rachel smiled at her knowingly and she knew she was thinking the same thing.

"That was lovely Puck." Judy said with a smile. Pucks smiled back and nodded as he picked up his fork. They all began eating. Rachel picked up a piece of pasta with her fork and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she let out a soft moan.

"Oh my Gosh, Judy this is amazing!" Rachel said as she savored the flavor in her mouth.

"Oh you are so sweet, all of you!" Judy said with a smile.

"Quinn, these are some ace friends you have here!" Russell said happily as he smiled at his daughter, who smiled back happily.

"I know dad, I know." She said, looking at her friends who all smiled at her happily. There was a shared feeling of sheer joy with between the four. They knew then and there that they would be friends for a very long time. And they all simply fell in love with the idea of being together like that.

* * *

**A/N: Well there you go! Sweet ending huh?**

**Also I'm sorry for all the Quinn feels, anyone else wanted to grab her and hug her just then or is it just me?**

**Anyway, please don't forget to review.**

**Also, I will keep writing but you might have to be patient with me for the next few days, I have a very important maths exam next week and I need to study...A lot!**

**Thank you guys so much for your support and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Coming up next: Quinn Fabray in a letterman jacket! (Can anyway say UNF?)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: FINALLY! I am so sorry for the late update, but i swear I felt like I was losing my writing mojo there for a while! **

**Huge apologies, but I had exams, and the stress was just too much to even think about writing! **

**But fret not, the mojo is back! And so is the story! **

**I will be working much more on my stories now, ALL of them. I have more time now as I have finished school and I'm dedicating more time to my writing.**

**Thank you so much for your patience! I won't keep you waiting any longer!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

The next day, Quinn arrived to school and went straight to her locker.

"Q!" Puck's voice was heard as he came up to her happily as he held a bag in his hands.

"Hey Puck, what's up?" Quinn said, quirking her eyebrow down at the bag in his hands.

"Coach wanted me to give you this, it's your gear and your letterman!" he said as he handed her the bag. She took it in her hands with a smile and gently placed it on the ground, opening it and pulling out her jersey to see what number she was assigned. It felt like her heart stopped when she saw the number under her last name.

Under the word 'Fabray' was the number '4' printed in white.

"Four?" she said softly. She blinked a couple of times as happiness swelled inside of her.

"What's that paper clipped to it?" Puck asked, she raised her eyebrow and looked up at her friend, then she turned the jersey around and saw a piece of folded paper attached to it with a paper clip. She pulled it off and opened it.

Thought you might want to spare your parents the trouble of making a new poster. Welcome to the team. See you at practice.

-coach Beiste.

Her face lit up as she read the note again.

"What?" Puck asked her and she showed him the note. He read it and a small smile crept up across his lips. "Damn, you're taking my place as her favorite!"

"Jealous?" Quinn said with a giggle.

"A little." Puck shrugged and chuckled at her, then he looked behind her. "Oh, don't look now, there's this hot brunette coming up to us!"

Quinn rolled her eyes at her friend and turned around to see Rachel walk up to her with a smile.

"Morning Rach!" she said with a smile.

"Morning!" She said happily. "I had fun at dinner last night, your parents are amazing!"

"Yeah Q they're awesome." Puck said with a nod.

"Thanks guys." Quinn said with a smile.

"So, do they umm…" Rachel began nervously. "Do they know?"

"Know what?" Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"That you're…you know…" Rachel said.

"Gay?" Quinn finished for her. Rachel nodded with a shy smile. "Not yet, I mean I know they love me and I know how awesome they are but I don't know if I'm ready to tell them."

"They won't hate you Quinn, you'll still be their little girl when you tell them, they'll still love you." Rachel said, reassuring her.

"I know." Quinn nodded and let out a deep sigh.

"And we'll be by your side when you decide to do it." Puck said with a pat on her shoulder. She smiled up at him and then back to the brunette in front of her.

"Thanks guys, I know you will." Quinn said. She saw Kurt come up to the three of them and smiled at him as well.

"Morning guys." He said as he came up, lifting his sunglasses above his head. He smiled at each of them and knew something was up. "What are we talking about?"

"Just telling Quinn that we'll be by her side if and when she's ready to tell her parents she's gay." Rachel smiled up at him and then back to the blonde who never stopped smiling at her.

"I think they already know." Kurt said.

"What?!" Quinn said in shock.

"Oh please, the only guy you hang out with is a flaming homo and you have posters of Kiera Knightly and Nina Dobrev. Both of which are in a bikini" Kurt pointed out. "I think it's safe to say they at least suspect some rainbow going on in there."

"It is a little hard to hide it when you make it so obvious Q, I mean, why are they right across from your bed?" Puck asked.

"I like to wake up and think 'Work hard enough and you'll look like those girls.'" Quinn shrugged, not even trying to come up with a better lie.

"Okay first off, if that's true you really don't need it, and secondly you're such a horrible liar it's not even funny." Rachel shook her head, clearly not accepting the excuse.

"Okay fine, sometimes my imagination isn't enough you know?" Quinn admitted with another shrug.

"Okay, stop!" Kurt said with a cringe and a lift of his hand.

"That's kind of hot Q." Puck said with a smile.

"Yeah." Rachel breathed out and suddenly everyone turned to her. She froze and her eyes widened. "Oh shit did I say that out loud?"

"You did." Puck said.

"On both counts." Kurt added.

SHE THINKS I'M HOT! Quinn squealed internally.

She thinks you masturbating is hot.

Same difference. Shut up.

"Will you guys stop looking at me like I just ate a baby! Quinn's hot, I think we can all agree on that." Rachel shrugged.

"I'm sorry I was too busy picturing you and Q getting' your freak on, what was that about eating babies?" Puck said with a chuckle. Rachel reached over and punched him in the shoulder playfully.

"Don't be gross!" she chastised. Kurt gave Quinn a knowing look as she smiled goofily at him.

She thinks I'm hoot! She thinks I'm hoooot. Quinn sang to herself mentally

Dude, she's talking!

SHIT!

"…The bag?" Rachel asked in a questioning tone.

"Huh?" Quinn said as she snapped out of her head, she looked down to where Rachel was pointing and saw the bag of basketball gear and her letterman jacket. "Oh, that's my basketball Jerseys and my letterman!"

"You already got your jacket?" Kurt asked with a smile.

"Yeah, and you'll never believe what number coach Beiste assigned me!" Quinn said excitedly. She grabbed the jersey that was in her hands a few minutes ago and opened it, showing them the number under her last name.

"She gave you your brother's old number?" Rachel said happily as she took the bottom ends of the jersey in her hand, the conversation where her brother's number came up the night before swimming in her mind.

"Yeah, cool right?" Quinn gushed happily.

"That's awesome Q!" Kurt said with a warm smile. "Charlie is going to be so proud! And so is your dad!"

"He's already really happy, he actually told me he's coming to pick me up after practice today." Quinn said happily and everyone's smile grew wider, knowing how happy the blonde was that her father was so proud of her.

"That's great Quinn!" Rachel said, pulling her into a hug.

"Yeah! That's awesome!" Kurt said, hugging her as well.

"Okay, okay, enough sappiness, let's see how hot she looks in her letterman!" Puck said with a chuckle.

A few minutes later Rachel was waiting for her near the sinks in the bathroom.

"I don't see why you couldn't just put it on outside, it's just a jacket." Rachel said to Quinn who was in one of the stalls.

"I had another jacket on." Quinn said.

"I know Quinn, I'm holding it right now." Rachel said, lifting the hoodie in her hands even though she knew Quinn couldn't see her. She smiled at the girls yellow and black checkered hoodie. "You know what song this thing reminds me of?"

"I swear to God Rachel if you start rapping Wiz Khalifa I am terminating this friendship, effective immediately!" Quinn threatened with a chuckle.

"Fine." Rachel pouted.

"Stop pouting." Quinn said.

"How did you-" Rachel began.

"Please Rachel, I can practically hear you pouting from here!" Quinn chuckled.

"You can't hear a pout Quinn, that's just silly." Rachel said, crossing her arms. "And so is being afraid to put on a letterman jacket! It's just a jacket!"

"It's not just a jacket Rach, I know you hate the way the school works as much as I do, but this thing is a sign of authority in this building." Quinn said.

"Whatever." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Besides, I'm nervous about how I look in it, and you don't just pull a letterman jacket out and put it on. You make an entrance." Quinn explained.

"And people call me a diva." Rachel said with another eye roll.

"Rachel you go into five hundred word long rants about how you want to be on Broadway and be like Barbra Streisand." Quinn said.

"I will be on Broadway." Rachel corrected her.

"Whatever you say Rach." Quinn giggled. She fixed her beanie back on her head after putting the jacket on and fixing her clothes underneath it. "Okay, ready?"

"Yes, come on, I don't want to be late for class!" Rachel said, and it was Quinn's turn to roll her eyes.

"Someone's excited for Shakespeare." She mumbled.

"Come on Quinn!" Rachel said.

"Okay, okay." Quinn said. She took a deep breath before unlocking the stall door and walking out, facing Rachel as she looked her up and down in her letterman jacket.

Oh damn, Quinn IS hot. She thought to herself.

"How do I look?" Quinn asked nervously.

"Like you'll have all the girls at McKinley falling at your feet." Rachel said with a smile. Quinn smiled back at her and rolled her eyes before stepping up in front of a mirror and adjusting the sides of the jacket as she looked at her reflection. She adjusted her loose beanie and smirked at herself.

"I look ridiculous." She shook her head.

"You look hot." Rachel blurted out, clapping a hand over her mouth suddenly. Quinn turned to her.

"You know, that's the second time You've said that today," Quinn said, then turned back to look at herself one more time. "You have to be careful or Puck is going to have some nasty ass images in his head."

"I-" Rachel tried to say but her words wouldn't come out.

"And so will I." Quinn shot her a look and winked at her with a smirk before walking out of the bathroom. Damn, this jacket was already getting to her and she didn't even have it on for five minutes. Rachel blinked at the retreating image of Quinn's back.

Did Quinn just hit on me?

I think the better question is, did you really just get your panties that wet?

You really never do shut up, do you?

Duh, I'm Rachel Berry.

I'm Rachel Berry, you're Rachel Berry's weird, perverted, evil twin that somehow ended up trapped in her own mind.

Aww stop, you're making me blush

Ugh, I am so glad you were never actually born.

If I was born you could actually get away from me. This way I'm everywhere.

Yes but at least we have one less serial killer on the loose.

Let's not be so sure shall we?

Can you shut up long enough for me to focus on English?

Yeah because Shakespeare is so much better am I right?

Yes well my inner mental monologue won't get me an A in this class.

Do you think Quinn ever looks at your ass while you're in your cheerios uniform?

This is going to be a long day…

Quinn walked out of the bathroom and into the hallway where Puck and Kurt were waiting for her to come out. When they saw her in her letterman jacket, their faces lit up.

"What?" she asked when she saw them smile.

"You look…" Kurt began, trying to find the right words.

"So. Freaking. Badass." Puck finished for him.

"Thanks…I think…" Quinn said with a smile.

"Come on." Kurt said, handing her her school bag. "We don't want to be late for English, where's Rachel?"

"Coming!" Rachel called out a few seconds before the door opened and she came out. They all walked to class together, Puck walking them to class before going to his own lesson. When Quinn walked into the classroom with her letterman jacket, everyone looked surprised and started whispering to their friends. Quinn felt her breath hitch and her hands shake due to the sudden nerves. She took a deep breath and walked up to her desk, bowing her head into the desk and waiting for the teacher to come in and shut them up. Puck saw the look on his friends face and smiled, a brilliant idea coming to his mind like a light bulb had flicked on above his head.

"Hey Quinn," The blonde looked up at her friend who had popped half of his body into the class to shout something over to her. "Don't forget we have basketball practice today after school!"

Quinn's eyes bulged at him and then she noticed how everyone stopped talking and turned to look at her, they all either had hitched eyebrows, or intrigued smirks, or both. She felt nervous and confident at the same time. She looked up at Puck who smiled at her knowingly.

"I know dude, thanks!" Quinn said, raising her hand briefly in a small wave, which was returned by Puck. She looked over to the front and saw Santana smiling at her mischievously.

Uh oh…

Quinn looked at Rachel who saw the look Santana had given her. She leaned to her side and whispered in her ear.

"Why is she looking at me like that?" Quinn asked.

"I don't know, but knowing Santana, it means trouble." Rachel said. Quinn gulped audibly.

This was going to be a long day.

After second period Quinn was at her locker when she felt someone tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw Dave Karofsky standing behind her holding a slushy in his hands.

Bitch I just got this jacket.

"Coach Beiste will kill you if you ruin this jacket." Quinn threatened.

"I'm not throwing it at you, it's a peace offering." Dave said.

"What?" Quinn quirked her eyebrow, confused. Dave handed her the cup and a straw.

"You're on the basketball team now, which makes you one of us, it's a truce." Dave said. "From now on, no more slushy facials."

"Umm…Thanks?" Quinn said, taking the cup and straw.

"No problem." Dave shrugged.

"Oh, just as long as you make sure to leave my boy Kurt alone too you got it?" Quinn said.

"Yeah, of course." Dave nodded.

"Okay, now get out of here." A voice was heard saying behind them. Quinn froze when she recognized who it was. She turned around and found that in front of her stood a fiery Latina.

"Umm…Hey Santana." Quinn said, taking a sip of the slushy to calm her nerves. Damn, these things were good when they weren't being launched into your face.

"Hey Quinn." Santana said with a sultry voice and a wink.

"D-did you have anything to do with what just happened?" Quinn asked.

"You mean Karofsky?" Santana said with a hitched eyebrow. Quinn nodded. "Well, let's just say I convinced him and the rest of the jocks at this school to never mess with you again."

"Okay…why?" Quinn said, suddenly feeling nervous again.

"I don't know, it's just…seeing you walk into English class with that letterman this morning…" Santana stepped closer to Quinn and whispered into her ear. "It did things to me, things that would make a god fearing Christian cringe and go to confession just for hearing about them."

Quinn stood there frozen. She could feel the Latina's hot breath on her ear and neck. She gulped, probably audibly considering their proximity, and took a small step back.

"I…I…" the blonde stammered out, not sure what she wanted to say.

Smooth Fabray…

"So, what do you say we go out on a date this Friday?" the Latina asked.

"What?" Quinn said, her thoughts snapping back into place.

"You, me, Breadstix." Santana stated. "Come on Quinn, you know you want to."

"How did you know I was…" Quinn asked, her nerves reaching a peak. She sipped the slushy again as casually as possible.

"Puckerman asks you out and you say no? No straight woman in her right mind would do that." Santana said with a smirk and an evil glint in her eyes that made Quinn shake in a very bad way.

"How did you know he asked me out?" Quinn asked again.

"I have ears all over this school." Santana shrugged. "So, Friday?"

"As nice as that sounds, no thanks." Quinn shook her head.

"You're saying no to me? Have you been paying attention? Everyone that goes out on a date with me gets lucky, unless they're a total loser." Santana said.

"I'm sure that would be awesome, Santana, but you were a total bitch to Rachel last week, and no one messes with my friends." Quinn said.

"If I hadn't slushied short stack she wouldn't be your friend right now." Santana deflected the accusation.

"She was already my friend, Santana, it's just that because of you we ended up hanging out all the time, and as great as that is, you still hurt her." Quinn said. "Normally I don't hold grudges, but when someone hurts my friends, it's kind of hard to let it go."

"So what if I apologize, will you go out with me then?" Santana asked.

"Why do you want to go out with me so bad?" Quinn asked.

"Look, things struck out with Puck, and before you ask no I'm not using you to make him jealous." Santana said, halting Quinn's thought immediately. "Look you're the only girl on the team, if I go out with you it wouldn't matter if I'm out or not."

"So you're gay too?" Quinn asked with a hitched eyebrow.

"Well done genius." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Santana, you're a cheerleader, no one's going to care either way 'cause they're all scared of you." Quinn shrugged. "Besides, you don't have to be in the hierarchy to be out, sure it would be better cause you'd get a pass on all the crap people throw at you, but look at Kurt, he's out and proud and he's never been happier!"

"So you're saying you won't go out with me?" Santana said.

"Sorry." Quinn shrugged.

"Will you at least consider it?" Santana said, slumping her shoulders.

"I'll think about it." Quinn nodded.

"Thanks, now do you have any idea where I can find Rachel?" Santana asked.

"Come talk to her at lunch, she's probably already in class right now, and I should be going too." Quinn said, shutting her locker and walking away. She finished off the rest of the slushy on her way to class and walked in to chemistry, taking her seat near Puck as usual.

"Dude, your lips are red." He whispered, then his eyes grew wide. "Did someone slushy you cause I will kick their ass-"

"No Puck, relax." Quinn stopped him. "Santana got Dave Karofsky to actually apologize and call a truce, he actually just gave me one to drink."

"To drink? As in not in your face?" Puck said with a raised eyebrow.

"They are surprisingly good when they aren't being hurled into your eyes." Quinn said with a giggle. "Anyway the weirdest thing just happened."

"Besides Karofsky not being a total D-Bag?" Puck asked.

"Even weirder." Quinn said. "Santana asked me out."

"What?" Puck said, genuinely confused.

"Yeah, apparently she's in the closet." Quinn shrugged.

"I knew there was a reason why I didn't turn her on!" Puck said.

"Umm, ew." Quinn cringed.

"Sorry." Puck chuckled. "Anyway what did you say?"

"No, obviously." Quinn shrugged.

"You turned down Santana Lopez? And you're still breathing? Wow." Puck chuckled again.

"I told her I wasn't about to go out with her after she bitched out on Rachel like that last week, anyway now she's gonna look for her at lunch to apologize." Quinn explained.

"And then you'll go out with her?" Puck asked.

"I never said that, I just promised her I'd think about it." Quinn said. "I could never totally shoot someone down, especially since, and this is really strange coming from her, but she seemed really keen on going out with me."

"Maybe she genuinely likes you." Puck shrugged.

"Somehow that scares me more." Quinn giggled nervously.

"Oh relax." Puck said with a pat on her shoulder.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Anyway I don't think I could go out with anyone else with the massive crush I have on Rachel." Quinn shrugged.

"Glad to see you're not hiding it from me anymore." Puck smiled at her.

"You figured it out immediately, why hide it?" Quinn shrugged again.

"It's okay man, I know the feeling." Puck said.

"You do? You actually have a crush on someone?" Quinn quirked up an eyebrow.

"Okay…not really, but I did once." It was his turn to shrug this time.

"Is this because I shot you down?" Quinn chuckled.

"Someone's full of themselves, looks like the jacket is working." Puck chuckled along.

"I totally made the most inappropriate joke to Rachel this morning in the bathroom, like, not even five minutes after I put it on, more like two seconds. It was weird how confident I was at that second." Quinn said.

"That's the letterman effect my friend!" Puck patted her on the shoulder.

"I can't wait to tell Charlie I got his old number!" Quinn said, the memory suddenly hitting her. "I'm actually thinking of just getting into my dads car with my jersey on."

"Dude. After practice you're gonna be all sweaty, it'll be gross." Puck chuckled with a cringe.

"I know but he's gonna be over the damned moon!" Quinn said happily.

"That's good though. He seemed really proud of you when you told him last night." Puck said with a smile.

"I know right?" Quinn agreed. "I haven't seen him that happy in a few weeks, he's got this big deal going on at work and it's really stressing him out. This basketball thing is just what he needed!"

"I'm glad he's happy, he seems like a really awesome dad…" Puck said, trailing off and looking down sadly at his desk.

"Something wrong Puck?" Quinn asks, not missing the way Puck stopped himself.

"I just…i just really wish I had a dad like that you know? Mine doesn't want anything to do with me." Puck said with a sigh.

"Puck, can I honestly tell you what I think?" Quinn asked him.

"Of course, you're my bro, you can tell me anything." Puck said, looking up at her.

"I think your dad's an idiot. He has this amazing son he doesn't even know well enough, or care enough to be around for." Quinn said. "And I think he's missing out on knowing the most amazing guy in the world."

Puck stared at her. His heart swelled at her words and tears threatened to sting his eyes. He looked down quickly and pressed the bridge of his nose to stop the tears from coming out. He would not cry over his dad, he wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

"Thanks Q." He mumbled. He felt the blonde's hand go up to his shoulder and give it a comforting squeeze.

"If you ever need anything, I'm here for you." She said. "And Puck?"

"Yeah?" he said looking up at her.

"I'd be more than happy to share my dad with you if you need him." Quinn said with a smile. Puck didn't say anything, he just smiled back at the prospect of finally having a father figure in his life.

"You know? We really need to stop having difficult conversations in the middle of chemistry." Puck said. Quinn giggled at how true the statement was.

Soon enough they found themselves waiting outside of the cafeteria for Rachel, that was when Quinn's phone beeped. She opened the new text she had just received.

'Hey, go ahead without me, I'll meet you there x.'

"That's weird." Quinn said, her eyebrow raised at her phone.

"What?" Kurt asked.

"She told us to go ahead without her. She's never usually late." Quinn said.

"Oh well, let's go, I'm hungry!" Puck said. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"As usual, you put your stomach first, what if she's hurt?" Quinn asked.

"Oh will you stop worrying your pretty little head about it? She's fine, if she were in trouble we'd be the first to know." Kurt waved off.

"Okay, fine, but I'm going to text her and ask just in case." Quinn said, looking at her phone again and typing in a message.

Rachel looked up from her phone after texting Quinn and looked back at Santana.

"Are you even listening to me?" the Latina asked.

"Yes, I am, I just wanted to text Quinn to let her know I'll be late since you decided to hijack me." Rachel said.

"Still the diva I see? Good to know some things never change." Santana smiled with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Can you get to the point of this conversation? I want to go hang out with my friends!" Rachel said, crossing her arms.

"Do you normally throw slushies on your friends?" Santana asked.

"Nice one, smartass, but let's not forget that that's why we're even having this conversation." Rachel snapped.

"Touche Berry, anyway, as I was saying. I wanted to apologize." Santana said, crossing her own arms. Rachel's eyebrows reached her hairline in surprise.

"Santana Lopez is actually apologizing? Color me surprised." Rachel shrugged.

"I am." Santana said. "I mean it, you're my best friend, I'm sorry I treated you like crap. You seem really happy with those bunch of lo-"

"Say it and you're dead." Rachel cut her off.

"Lovely people." Santana finished with a smug smile.

"Thought so." Rachel said with an eye roll.

"Come on Rachel, I'm saying I'm sorry here, are you really going to keep up the HBIC attitude?" Santana said.

"Santana, you threw a slushy at me because I was defending my friends. You called me a loser and humiliated me in front of the entire school." Rachel said.

"I know, but-"

"Not finished." Rachel cut her off again. "You called my friends losers, you, who are supposed to be my best friend and support every decision I make. And when you betrayed my trust, they were the ones who were there to help me."

"I know, and-"

"Not finished!" Rachel cut off again. "And now you come up to me and expect me to forgive you just like that? You've got some redeeming to do."

"Are you finished?" Santana asked.

"I am."

"Good." Santana said. "I know I did all of that crap, and I'm sorry, really I am. And I know you can't just forgive me just like that, but will you at least let me redeem myself? Tell me what I can do and I'll do it."

"First things first, any slushy orders you have. Stop them ASAP." Rachel demanded.

"I already did that the minute I saw Fabray in that letterman." Santana said. "By the way what's that all about?"

"She's on the basketball team now, her brother is Charlie Fabray!" Rachel told her.

"Wow." Santana said.

"Yeah. Anyway." Rachel said, coming back to the subject at hand. "I want you to give the guys a chance. They really are great once you get to know them. Even Puck, beneath that badass facade he's just a sweetheart."

Santana sighed and looked down for a second before looking back at Rachel.

"Fine. I'll give them a chance. But only because Quinn is damned hot in that letterman." Santana surrendered.

"Yeah tell me about it." Rachel mumbled to herself.

"What?" Santana asked.

"Nothing." Rachel dismissed. Her phone buzzed in her hands and she looked at the new text.

'You're okay though right? You're not hurt or anything? Are you at the nurse's office?'

Rachel smiled at the words on her phone screen. Her heart swelled at how worried Quinn was about her.

"What's got you all smiley smiley?" Santana asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Huh?" Rachel looked up. "Oh nothing, just a text from Quinn."

Santana observed the smaller brunette as she looked back to her phone and typed out a new message. She smiled to herself. She knew that there was no way a text, whatever it was, could make Rachel smile that smile unless the person who sent the text was very, very special to her.

'I'm fine, you diva! Santana wanted to talk to me to apologize, weird right? See you in a bit xx.'

"Santana, as riveting as this conversation was," Rachel said sarcastically. "I have to go, my friends are waiting for me and I don't want to miss out on the lunchtime laughs."

And with that, Rachel turned on her heel and walked to the cafeteria, reading a new text she received on the way.

'I am not a diva :('

'Uh huh, sure. ;)'

She arrived at the cafeteria, bought her lunch and sat down with her friends at their usual table.

"Hey Rach." Quinn said with a smile.

"Hey Quinn, hey boys." Rachel said to Puck and Kurt.

"Hey Rachel." They said in unison.

"So what did Santana say?" Quinn asked, taking a bite out of her chicken salad sandwich that she opted for instead of the pasta today.

"She said you looked hot in that letterman…which you are not wearing?" Rachel said with a raised eyebrow, just now noticing the girl didn't have her jacket on. Quinn smiled shyly.

"Yeah I'm uh…I'm kind of scared to get food on it." Quinn said shyly.

Why is that the cutest thing ever? Rachel thought

"That makes sense." She nodded.

"So Santana really said I look hot in the jacket?" Quinn said with a quirked eyebrow.

"She did." Rachel nodded.

And I couldn't agree more. She finished mentally.

Just imagine how hot she looked without anything on.

Will you get out of the gutter just for once in your life?

You started it.

Shut up.

"So did she apologize for what she did?" Quinn asked.

"She did actually. And she said she'd do anything to redeem herself." Rachel said, taking a bite out of her salad.

"So are you going to let her?" Quinn asked again, that damned eyebrow seemed to lift up on it's own.

"I am." Rachel said with a firm nod. "She's been my best friend since freshman year when I joined the cheerios. Sure we fight and we don't always see eye to eye and she's vulgar most of the time. But she's there when I need her and even though it's not all the time, she really does care."

"That's good. I love the fact that the four of us are friends, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should cut her and Brittany out." Kurt joined in.

"My problem was never with Brittany, it's just that she tends to follow Santana around." Rachel said, then went into deep thought "In actual fact, I think Santana needs her more than she needs Santana. Whenever Santana's angry or sad or upset in anyway she always goes to Brittany to cheer her up."

"I get a feeling Brittany isn't as dumb as she lets everyone believe." Quinn hummed before taking another bite of her lunch.

"She has her moments." Rachel shrugged.

"Hey Puck, what's up bud? You've barely said a word." Kurt said, switching the subject. All eyes went to the Mo Hawked boy who looked up from his lunch.

"Nothing, just thinking." Puck said with a shrug.

"Oh my God, are you sick?" Quinn said in fake-worry. Puck rolled his eyes as Kurt and Rachel giggled.

"Very funny. No. I'm just thinking about this whole Santana thing." He said.

"What about it?" Rachel asked.

"I think it's just kind of funny how first she asks Quinn out and then she apologizes to Rachel." Puck said. Quinn's eyes grew with the realization that she hadn't even told Rachel of her earlier encounter with the Latina in subject.

"She asked you out?" Rachel said. Why was her breathing suddenly shallow?

"Umm, yeah, sorry I forgot to mention it." Quinn said quietly.

"W-w-what did you say?" Rachel stammered out. She was incredibly confused at her own reaction. Her palms were sweaty, her heart beat was suddenly rapid and she felt like she was having a panic attack.

"I said no at first, but thens he asked me to think about it, so I at least agreed to that." Quinn shrugged. "I don't know how to completely shoot someone down."

Rachel had to fight herself not to say 'aww' at how sweet the blonde was even to a girl who was nothing but horrible to her in the past.

Wait, what is going on? She thought to herself. First the panic attack and now I'm gushing over how sweet she is? Pull it together Berry!

"Umm…" Rachel gulped, almost audibly. She tried to steady her breathing. She couldn't even get a grip on exactly what she was feeling. She just knew she didn't like the idea of Santana dating Quinn and a little voice inside her head just kept screaming 'NO.'

"Rach, are you okay?" the blonde asked. "You got all pale all of a sudden."

"Yeah you look really white all of a sudden." Puck said. "You're not gonna throw up are you?"

"I…I…'m f-fine." Rachel stuttered out forcibly.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost." Kurt said, his tone full of concern. Rachel gulped again.

"R-really guys…I'm ok-kay" Rachel stammered again, then forced herself to clear her throat.

Dammit Berry, quit stuttering!

What was happening to her? She inhaled deeply and exhaled, as if she needed to remind herself how to breathe. Suddenly she remembered what brought this reaction out. The thought of Quinn and Santana on a date. She felt sick to her stomach and she had no idea why. But suddenly her appetite was gone, and she just wanted to curl up in bed. Tears stung her eyes and threatened to spill out. The annoying part was that she had no idea why Quinn's news spiked up such a reaction. She should be happy, right? I mean her best friend was asked out by a smoking hot cheerleader. She felt sick again. She wrapped her arms around herself, shut her eyes and willed the strange feeling to go away.

"Come on." Quinn's voice broke her out of her thoughts, she felt her hand being taken into a gentle grasp. "I'm taking you to the nurse."

"Wha-why?" Rachel was suddenly very confused, and the she realized that to her the paling and the sickness were all emotional, but to someone who wasn't inside her mind she probably looked like she was going to pass out at any moment.

"Rach, first you pale up and now you just look green." Quinn said softly.

"Yeah and not a cool 'going hulk' green either." Puck added.

"You're being silly guys, I'm fine." Rachel said.

"Really? Because you look like you ate year old cheese that's been out in the sun for too long." Kurt said.

"I swear, I'm fine guys." Rachel argued again.

"Okay, well, will you still come with me to the nurse. So that we can make sure that you are actually fine." Quinn said, looking into her eyes with pleading hazel orbs. "For me? So that I won't have to worry about you?"

Rachel looked into those deep pools of hazel and something inside her melted. The feeling of sickness was gone, replaced by butterflies as she felt transfixed to the blonde's breathtaking gaze. Her breathing eased, slowing down. She felt Quinn's other hand go up to her bicep and shake her lightly.

"Rachel, are you even listening to me?" Quinn's voice flooded her ears.

Gosh, she has the voice of an angel.

She's talking!

And she's doing it so well.

Focus Berry!

"Rachel! Speak to me!" Quinn demanded again. "Breathe. For the love of all that is good on this earth. Do not. Pass out."

"I..I.." Rachel tried to speak.

"Well…she made a noise…that's good." Puck's voice said from behind her.

"Come on Rach, you're going to the nurse!" Quinn said, pulling at her hand gently helping her up. Suddenly the loss of heat from having Puck behind her caused her to shiver. Quinn felt her termors as she put an arm around her and leaned down to pick up her letterman jacket. "Here, put this around you so you'll keep warm."

Suddenly she felt the jacket being draped over her shoulders and Quinn's arm going around her shoulder protectively as she was led to the nurse's office. When they reached the office the nurse saw them and came up to them.

"We were having lunch and she just got pale all of a sudden, she looked like she was going to be sick then she just zoned out for a minute." Quinn explained to the nurse. The taller, older woman directed her towards the cot and Quinn nodded. She led Rachel over to the cot and helped her up onto it. Rachel laid down and shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. She opened them again a minute later and saw Quinn sitting on the chair next to her.

"Why don't you go back? Lunch will be over soon and you have class." Rachel said softly, feeling like she could finally speak for the first time in a long time.

"Hell no." Quinn shook her head. "I'm staying here."

"Why?" Rachel asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Because, Rach, seeing you suddenly go all pale…it freaked me out." Quinn said with a sigh. "And besides, there's no way I could concentrate on class anyway, I'd probably be texting you non stop to make sure you're still alive."

Rachel couldn't help but chuckle lightly. She was about to shrug off the jacket and hand it back to Quinn when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Keep it on until you feel better." The blonde's soft voice said.

"You're being the sweetest thing on earth right now, Quinn, honestly I'm fine." Rachel tried to reassure the concerned girl.

"People who are fine don't pale up out of nowhere." Quinn said. "You don't have any issues like low blood pressure right?"

"No." Rachel shook her head. "I'm perfectly healthy Quinn."

"Well then, maybe you were turning into the hulk." Quinn said. Rachel chuckled again at the memory of what Puck said.

"I just…I don't know, I just felt weird suddenly, but it passed I assure you." Rachel said, slipping her hand into Quinn's and giving it a light squeeze.

"Let's just get you checked out by the nurse once we're here okay?" Quinn suggested. "I wouldn't feel right about not making sure you're a hundred percent okay, especially since you have cheerios practice after glee."

"You remembered?" Rachel said with a smile.

"Of course, I walked you there last Thursday remember? Ms. Sylvester kept calling Kurt porcelain and lady boy. You shot her a glare that could turn a man to stone." Quinn said, chuckling lightly at the last part.

"Yeah sorry about her." Rachel said.

"Don't be, it's not like it's your fault she's a total bitch." Quinn said. "Anyway I remember as well cause all after school activities are on Tuesdays and Thursdays save for yesterday's try outs. I mean I have basketball after school today so."

Quinn finished off her thought with a shrug and Rachel smiled up at her again.

"I'm really happy you're on the team, now I can cheer for you during the games." She said, happily yet silently.

"And Puck too." Quinn chuckled.

"Yeah." Rachel hummed lightly, not really thinking about that part.

"And Finn." Quinn added.

Rachel's eyes grew wide for a moment, she really didn't think about that part.

"Y-yeah." She stuttered out. She shut her eyes and groaned internally. She had a boyfriend for god's sake, why was she so hung up on Santana asking Quinn out.

The nurse came in just then to take Rachel's temperature and ask her a few questions about what happened. She concluded that it was just a quick spell of dizziness. If only she knew the truth.

They walked out of the nurse's office together.

"So are you sure you're feeling okay?" Quinn asked again.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine?" Rachel said, smiling to the girl.

"Okay, okay. Excuse me for worrying about my best friend!" Quinn said with a chuckle.

"D-did you just call me your best friend?" Rachel said, her smile growing wider and her eyebrow quirking up.

"I did." Quinn nodded.

"I thought Kurt was your best friend." Rachel said softly.

"He is. There's nothing that says I can't have more than one best friend is there?" Quinn said, smiling at the girl.

"I guess not…so is Puck your best friend too then?" Rachel asked.

"Well, Puck's my bro." Quinn said.

"There's a difference?" Rachel asked, this time with an amused smile instead of a flattered one.

"Well, kind of. He's my bro, I play sports with him, talk about hot girls with him…you know what I'm saying here?" Quinn asked.

"He's the friend you do guy stuff with." Rachel said.

"Kind of, yeah." Quinn nodded.

"Me and Kurt are the ones that will help you pick out new shoes and clothes, he's the one you play video games with on Saturdays." Rachel mused.

"You could say that." Quinn nodded again.

"So what else fall under my best friend duties?" Rachel asked, tilting her head shyly to the side.

"Giving me advice on what girls like I guess." Quinn shrugged. Rachel giggled.

"Well, I'll be sure to do that then." She nodded. "Oh and Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

"You're my best friend too." Rachel smiled up at the girl who smiled back happily. "And thank you for caring so much about what happened."

"What are best friends for?" Quinn shrugged again, still smiling. Rachel looked into her eyes for a moment, before pushing herself up on her toes and kissing Quinn on the cheek.

"You're the best." She whispered into the blonde's ear before pulling back.

Quinn gulped, taking a subtle deep breath. She loved it when Rachel kissed her on the cheek like that. She desperately wished it would be on the lips, but any kiss from Rachel Berry was a gift that should not be blinked at.

"S-so are your dads both at work?" Quinn stuttered out, hoping Rachel didn't notice.

"Yeah, they're working late, why?" Rachel asked.

"Umm, if you feel sick again and feel like you want to go home, just text me. I'll call my mom to take you home." Quinn said.

"Quinn, that's sweet, but you don't have to call your mom, I'll just walk home if anything happens." Rachel said.

"I'm not letting you walk home if you're sick Rach, what if you pass out?" Quinn said.

"Okay, fine, but you have to stop being so sweet, I'm getting a toothache." Rachel said, poking Quinn playfully in the shoulder.

"If you go to the dentist let me come okay? I want to see what you're like on anesthesia." Quinn chuckled.

"And just like that you're back to being an ass." Rachel giggled, shoving Quinn lightly in the shoulder.

"Are you saying I have a sweet ass?" Quinn Teased.

God, I'm lame! She thought to herself.

"And what if I am?" Rachel teased back.

Did I just say that? Rachel thought.

"So you're saying you like my ass huh?" Quinn teased back once again.

"Now you're just putting words into my mouth!" Rachel giggled.

That's not the only thing I want to put in your mouth sweetheart!

Oh my God! Shut up!

"Come on silly, let's get you to class." Quinn snapped herself out of her thoughts. She instinctively wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulder as they began walking. Rachel noticed this, but she did nothing to push her away. It felt warm. It felt comfortable.

The rest of the day breezed by and pretty soon the four were walking out of the choir room.

"Okay, so Q and I are off to the gym for practice." Puck said.

"And I have cheerios." Rachel said.

"And I'm going with you to watch and we can meet up outside the locker rooms?" Kurt said.

"Sounds like a plan!" Quinn said, smiling at the way they co ordinated everything without a second thought. They all gave each other a hug, when Quinn hugged Rachel, the brunette couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach again. She held the girl tightly for an extra second before they split up and went towards the gym or football field.

When Puck and Quinn walked into the gym, Quinn took a look around to see who her team mates were. Finn was there, of course, then she saw Dave Karofsky, whom she knew only because he used to torment the hell out of Kurt. She rolled her eyes, praying to God above that that would be over for good now. She saw a few boys that she didn't recognize and two other familiar faces. Lucas and Porter. She couldn't help but smile when she saw them, because it had meant that Mitchell hadn't made the team. She followed Puck to the sidelines to sit on the bench with the rest of the team. Coach smiled at her the minute she saw her, ticking off her and Puck's name on her clipboard.

"Right on time Fabray." She said with a pat on her shoulder.

"Not even a wildfire could keep me away coach!" Quinn smiled at the older woman, who chuckled.

"Glad to hear it! Now go take a seat." Coach Beiste ushered the girl to the bench. She nodded and took a seat next to Puck, who smiled at her and gave her a discreet low five.

"Okay team, listen up!" Coach said, gathering everyone's attention. "The season starts in a month. You know what that means!"

"Another year for us to suck?" someone shouted from the other end of the bench.

"Enough Richards!" Coach yelled back. "Okay come on guys this isn't the spirit! We need confidence first and foremost before we even start to practice. Saying we're not going to make it will lead us to not making it!"

"Come on coach! McKinley hasn't won a game since Fabray graduated!" Azimio argued back. Coach smirked.

"It's funny you should say that Adams. Because we do have a Fabray on our team this year!" she said. Quinn smirked to herself before looking up at the coach.

"What are you talking about coach?" another boy yelled. Quinn looked over and saw Finn leaning back and giving her a thumbs up. She nodded to him and continued listening to the coach.

"As most of you know, yesterday we held the tryouts for the new members of the team. We got three new members to fill in those that were left empty after graduation." Coach said. "Let me introduce them to you. Come on up as I call your names guys. Lucas."

Lucas stood up and went to stand by coach Beiste as the team clapped for him.

"Porter." The coach called out again and he repeat the action. Quinn took a deep breath and readied herself.

"Fabray." The coach called. She could feel the breath of every team member hitch at the name. She smirked again and stood up. The team didn't clap, they looked like they saw a ghost at the mention of her last name.

"Team. I'd like you to meet Quinn Fabray."

"Aw come on you gotta be kidding me!" Azimio shouted. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"A girl coach? Really?" another boy argued.

"Enough!" Coach yelled, stopping the team's words. "I'm disappointed in all of you. I thought I taught you better than to judge someone cause of what gender they are. You're not seeing the bigger picture here. Hudson! Tell me this girl's last name. Now!"

"It's Fabray coach!" Finn said confidently. He stood up. "Quinn Fabray. And I don't agree with what all these guys are saying. I think she'll be great."

"Sit down Hudson!" Coach said with a smile. He nodded and sat back down with a smile at Quinn.

"Adams. Tell me who was the last Fabray on this team." Coach ordered.

"That's easy coach! Charlie Fabray! But what does that have to do-" he stopped himself with a look on his face like he just got bitch slapped with a brick. "No way!"

"Tell 'em Quinn!" Puck cheered.

"Charlie Fabray is my brother." Quinn said with a smile on her face.

"THE Charlie Fabray is your older bro? That is so boss yo!" a boy yelled from the middle of the bench.

"Yep, he's three years older than me. He graduated and went to Columbia." Quinn nodded.

"Yo! He's gotta come to a game sometime!" another guy suggested.

"I'll ask him." Quinn nodded.

"Hey yo, I'm sorry Quinn." Azimio said from the bench.

"No hard feelings." Quinn smiled at him.

"So are you as good as he is?" someone asked. She had to learn these guys names and fast.

"He taught me everything I know." Quinn shrugged. "So maybe."

"Yo. She's amazing!' Lucas called out. "She kicked my ass yesterday."

"And mine every single time we played!" Puck called out as well.

"Okay guys calm down!" Coach said, trying to stop everyone's shouting. "My point is, Quinn's a team member now. She should get the same respect as each and every single one of you get. So I won't have any more of this 'she's a girl' business. Her value is more than her gender. It's her skills that count okay? Now let's test those skills out!"

Everyone cheered and got up, patting Quinn on the shoulder as Coach instructed them to split into teams. They played a practice game, Quinn's team winning when they had planned out a play. Luckily she had Puck and Finn on her team and they both convinced the others to pass to her as much as possible. When practice was over, Quinn looked up to the bleachers as she was gathering her things and her eyes instantly grew wide.

Sitting on the bleachers, next to Rachel and Kurt, was Russell Fabray.

"Dad?!" she called out. He climbed off the bleachers and down next to her.

"Hey sweetheart." He said with a smile on his face.

"What are you doing here? I mean I knew you were picking me up but-" Quinn began happily.

"Well, I was early." Russell said with a chuckle.

"And Ms. Sylvester let us out early, she got pissed off at some of the girls." Rachel said, Kurt rolled his eyes. "Anyway we saw him waiting in his car and decided to go keep him company."

"Then we realized you were probably still at practice and well we wanted to surprise you!" Russell finished. Quinn's smile grew ten times and she jumped into her father's arms, wrapping them around his neck tightly as he wrapped his own around her back.

"Aww." Rachel hummed and rested her head on Kurt's shoulder while still looking at the sight of Quinn hugging her father. Kurt smiled and nodded in agreement.

"You will never believe what number I got!" Quinn said excitedly as she pulled back.

"Well turn around and let's see it!" Russell said happily. She jumped and turned at the same to to reveal the big number '4' on her back.

"Oh my Lord!" Russell exclaimed happily. Quinn turned around and saw tears brimming in his eyes.

"God that you're such a girl!" Quinn said. She hugged him tightly again, tears stinging her own eyes as she saw her father so happy for her.

"I'm just really happy for my little girl!" She said softly.

"Yo Mr. Fabray!" Puck said happily as he saw him. He jogged up to them as Quinn pulled back.

"Puck, I thought I told you to call me Russell!" the older man feigned annoyance.

"Sorry Russell." Puck shrugged with a grin. Russell opened up his arms at the boy and Puck fell into a tight hug with the older man whom he had only met the night before. It warmed his heart to feel so accepted by the man. Most people wouldn't even want them anywhere around their kids, yet this man was welcoming him with open arms, literally!

Quinn smiled at the sight of Puck and her father and saw Puck smiling at her from over the older man's shoulder. She gave him a thumbs up and a firm nod before turning back to Rachel and Kurt.

"Thanks for bringing him you guys." She said softly. The two brunettes simply smiled at her and nodded. Russell was telling Puck why he was there when they heard a voice behind them.

"Hey Rachel!" Finn said, coming up to them. He smiled down at the brunette and she smiled back. "What's up babe?"

"Hey Finn." She said. She was shocked for a second, she hadn't really thought about the boy much since her trip to the nurse. He leaned down and gave her a soft peck on the lips.

Quinn looked away for a moment, feeling like he was suddenly intruding on the two. She took a deep breath and looked at Kurt, who's smile changed from happy to sympathetic. She rolled her eyes and stepped closer to him.

"Knock it off." She said.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"That look, that 'I'm sorry you have to see this.' Look." Quinn said.

"Quinn-"

"I know alright? I'll get over it. Just stop with the sympathetic looks." Quinn repeated. She let out a frustrated breath and led Kurt over to Puck and her father.

"Kurt, good to see you!" Russell said as he enveloped the boy in a tight hug.

"Good to see you too Russell!" he said with a smile. From the corner of her eye, Quinn could see Rachel nodding to something Finn was saying and then he kissed her on the cheek and walked away. She joined the rest of them a second later.

"So, how about I give you kids a lift home huh?" Russell suggested.

"Oh that's okay Russell, we don't mind the walk." Kurt said.

"You kids aren't walking on my watch, come on. It's just a lift, promise I won't kidnap you!" Russell said, letting out a loud chuckle. Quinn rolled her eyes at her dad's joke while her three friends all giggled to it.

"Okay let's just go get changed. C'mon Puck!" Quinn said, leading Puck towards the locker rooms. They changed and found Kurt, Rachel and Russell waiting for them outside near the locker room doors. Russell immediately grabbed Quinn gym bag from her hands and swung in over his shoulder. She couldn't help but smile. It was the simplest of gestures but she knew her dad meant the world through it. They walked to his car and they all piled in. Kurt, Rachel and Puck packed themselves in the back seat while Quinn jumped into the passenger seat on her dad's left side. She buckled up her seat belt as he drove backed out of the parking lot.

An hour and a half later everyone was home and Quinn had just finished having dinner with her parents and re-telling the story of how she was given her number and how everyone on the team was skeptical about her because she's a girl but then froze when they heard her name. Her father smiled proudly all through dinner and she never felt happier about doing something at school. Seeing the pride in his eyes made the nerves she had about trying out for the team all worth while and she knew then and there that she had made her dad happy. She loved being on the team, but seeing the smile it brought to him made it ten times better.

After dinner she was in her room working on her homework when her phone vibrated, she picked it up and answered without bothering to see who it was.

"Yo this is Q, who be you?" she said into the phone.

"Oh my God you are lame." Rachel's loud giggles came through the phone.

"Hey Rach, what's up?" She asked as if nothing happened.

"Seriously Quinn you are the lamest person I know." Rachel said, still giggling.

"And you love me for it!" Quinn shot back.

"Yeah, you're right there." Rachel said.

"So what's up?" Quinn asked again.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to ask how practice went. You were so happy to see your dad after practice I forgot to ask." Rachel said.

"Yeah sorry about that, but I never really expected him to show up at the gym you know?" Quinn said.

"I know," Rachel said. "So how was practice? Did the guys give you hell for being a girl?"

"They did at first, but then Coach told them who I really was, and Puck and Finn stood up for me." Quinn said.

"Aww they did?" Rachel said happily.

"Yeah, by the way thank Finn for me would you?" Quinn said.

"Too much of a badass to do it yourself?" Rachel asked with a chuckle.

"No, just scared he'll accidentally step on me." Quinn giggled through the phone.

"Quinn!" Rachel whined.

"Jesus Christ I can hear you pout from here!" Quinn laughed again.

"You're ridiculous." Rachel said, she was rolling her eyes on the other end of the line.

"Ridiculously awesome!" Quinn retorted.

"I didn't know awesome meant completely silly and arrogant!" Rachel feigned a surprised tone.

"No the word for that is Rachel Berry." Quinn said back with a smug smile that Rachel could practically hear, and suddenly she knew what Quinn meant about the pouting.

"Rachel Berry is two words smart ass." Rachel said. "And one day you will see it written on the marquee of Broadway!"

"Hell yes I will, and I'll be the one in the front row watching you on opening night!" Quinn said. She couldn't see it, or hear it, but Rachel's smile grew ten times when she heard those words.

"You mean that?" Rachel asked.

"Of course!" Quinn reassured. There was a knock at the her bedroom door. "Hang on Rach. Come in!"

"Quinnie, I made your favorite cookies earlier today, want one?" Her mother's voice was heard as she popped her head into the room.

"Yeah mom!" Quinn said happily. Judy came in and handed her a plate of six cookies and a glass of her favorite chocolate milk. "You're the best!"

"Anything for you sweetie!" her mother said as she gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Hi Rachel!" the older blonde woman said into the phone that was in her daughters hands. Quinn chuckled when she heard Rachel's loud giggle over the phone.

"Hi Judy!" Rachel's voice came over the phone. Judy smiled at her daughter and walked out of the room. Quinn put the phone back to her ear.

"Want a cookie?" Quinn asked playfully.

"Yes, I'm sure you have the strength to throw a cookie that far across town." Rachel said sarcastically.

"I could send it to you via text message." Quinn giggled.

"Please do." Rachel said with an eye roll. Quinn held back her laughter as she opened up a new text message and hit send.

"Did you get it?" she asked.

"Get wha- Oh hang on I have a text." Rachel said and Quinn had to hold back her laughter once more. Over at the Berry household Rachel opened up the new text she received. It was an emoticon of a cookie. She quickly slapped the phone back over her ear.

"You are such a freaking dork Quinn Fabray!" she said into the phone. Quinn's loud and raucous laughter came up over the line and she actually had to pull her phone away from her ear for a second.

"I can't breathe." Quinn said through her uncontrollable laughing.

"You're not funny you know." Rachel said even though she was fighting her own giggles. She wouldn't give the blonde the satisfaction.

"Dude I'm hilarious." Quinn said, still giggling like an idiot.

An incredibly hot, adorable idiot. Rachel thought to herself, groaning internally at her own thoughts, what was going on with her?

"You still there Rach? Oh God you haven't eaten your phone have you? Wait open your mouth I wanna see if people can hear me talking from inside you! This will be awesome for Halloween!" Quinn said through more giggles. This time Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Quinn that's incredibly ridiculous and inaccurate." She argued.

"It would be funny though." Quinn said and Rachel couldn't help but agree.

"Yeah it would be kind of funny." Rachel said. "So, what are you doing? You know besides devouring cookies."

"Homework." Quinn said with a semi-full mouth.

"No. Really." Rachel said, biting her lip to stifle the giggles.

"I'm serious Rach, I'm doing homework." Quinn stated matter-of-factly. She grabbed the glass of chocolate milk and started taking loud, big gulps.

"God, Quinn I can hear you gulping from here." Rachel stated.

"Sorry." She said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Mom makes the best chocolate milk and cookies!"

"I'll have to take your word on that, being vegan and all." Rachel said.

"I'll ask if she can make you a vegan batch! They're too good to miss out on!" Quinn said.

"Thank you but that's quite unnecessary, I wouldn't want your mom to go through the trouble." Rachel said, though she was smiling at the other girl's sweetness.

"Rach, she makes a huge batch of cookies every week so that we have a week long supply." Quinn stated.

"Really?" Rachel said, then another thought popped into her head. "Do they last as long as they should?"

"Considering my dad and I inhale them more than we do oxygen? No. But mom takes that as an even bigger compliment. Besides, the fresher they are the better."

"Well, I should probably leave you to your work, I wouldn't want to distract you." Rachel said softly, not really wanting to hang up even though she had no idea what else she could talk about.

"You're not really, I'm a very good multi tasker." Quinn said.

"I'm sure, either way I have a few things of my own I should be doing, mainly returning Finn's messages, it feels like I've been ignoring him these past couple of days without really wanting to." Rachel said. Quinn couldn't help but feel slightly good about that, knowing that the brunette was too busy spending time with her to hang out with her boyfriend, still she felt bad. Finn did defend her against his team at practice after all.

"You do that, and don't forget to thank him for me." Quinn said.

"I won't, still I think you should thank him yourself." Rachel said.

"I'll bring him a few of my mom's cookies tomorrow, if my dad doesn't eat them all that is." Quinn said with a slight chuckle.

"He'd like that. Goodnight Quinn." Rachel said.

"Goodnight Rach." Quinn said with a smile.

"Oh, and Quinn?" Rachel said before the blonde could hang up.

"Yeah?"

"Never answer your phone like that again, it's deeply embarrassing and so utterly lame." Rachel advised.

"I'll think about it, see you tomorrow Strawberry shortcake!" Quinn said with a very amused grin.

"Strawberry shortcake?" Rachel questioned.

"Your last name is Berry, you smell like strawberries and you're-"

"Finish that sentence and you're a dead woman Fabray."

"What?" Quinn said feigning confusion. "All I was going to say was that you're cute like the character Strawberry shortcake."

"Uh huh, I'm sure." Rachel said with an eye roll.

"Goodnight." Quinn sing song-ed into the phone before hanging up with a giggle.

The next day Quinn texted Rachel asking her to bring Finn over to her locker. The brunette was confused but didn't question her friend. She walked over to the blonde who was at her locker with her hand in Finn's.

"Morning Quinn." Rachel said to catch the blonde's attention. Quinn smiled at the both of them.

"Hey guys." She said.

"Hey Quinn, Rachel said you wanted to see me?" Finn said.

"Yeah!" Quinn said with a smile and reached into her bag, pulling out a container and handing it to him.

"What's this?" he said, taking the container in his hand.

"A thank you gift." Quinn said with a smile. He furrowed his eyebrows and opened the container. The first thing all three of them noticed was the amazing smell that came out of the plastic box. Finn lifted it up to his nose and took a long whiff. He looked inside and found ten cookies.

"God these smell amazing!" he said, reaching into the container and licking his lips hungrily before chomping down on a cookie, he then proceeded to talk with his mouth full. "What are these for?"

"Just to say thanks for sticking up for me yesterday." Quinn shrugged. "My mom made them."

"They're awesome!" he groaned happily before devouring the rest of the cookie in his hand. He popped the lid back in place and smiled at the blonde. "You really didn't have to do this, but thanks, you're awesome dude!"

"You too man." Quinn said with a smile. She glanced at Rachel and saw the huge happy grin on the short cheerleader's face.

"I gotta get to class. Thanks again Quinn!" he said, then winked at Rachel and patted Quinn on the shoulder as he walked away with a huge grin on his face. Rachel giggled as she watched him slip his hand into the container again, quickly devouring another cookie before he walked into class.

"You just gave them to him and he's already down to eight, I have a feeling you'll get your container back before lunch." Rachel said through her giggles.

"Glad to see he likes them." Quinn shrugged.

"If you weren't gay we would be having a serious discussion about how he likes your cookies just a bit too much." Rachel said, causing Quinn to giggle and then cringe at what she was insinuating.

"Oh God no. Not on your life." Quinn said and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Still, it was sweet of you to do that, I thought you were joking when you said you'd bring him cookies." She said.

"I never joke when it comes to cookies." She said. Suddenly there was an arm draped over her shoulder.

"Morning ladies, how are you this fine Wednesday?" Puck's voice came up. Quinn rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Crease my letterman and you're a dead man Puckerman." Quinn said.

"Holy crap you just said 'man; three times in that sentence." Puck said in a dazed like manner. Quinn and Rachel giggled and two arms were wrapped around Rachel's waist, a head propping itself on her shoulder.

"And who said you three could have fun without me?" Kurt's voice came into Rachel's ear and she smiled at him.

"Aww, we could never have too much fun without you Kurt!" Rachel said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Damn right you can't." Kurt hummed with a giggle. He sniffed the air and then looked at Quinn with a serious expression. "Okay Fabray, where are they?"

"What?" Quinn asked with a quirked eyebrow. He removed himself from behind Rachel and stood nose to nose with Quinn who's eyes grew wide in shock and wonder at her best friend's glare.

"Don't play dumb with me blondie, you know what I'm talking about, hand them over." Kurt demanded.

"Kurt I seriously don't know what you're talking about." Quinn said confused as ever.

"Your mother's cookies Fabray, I can smell them from a mile away, they got me through Junior high and coming out. Now hand them over before we have a smack down!" he stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, Kurt, you must be smelling them from when she gave some to Finn." Rachel said. His eyes grew wide…like scary, homocidal wide, as he turned to face the brunette. He glared at her for a second before turning back to Quinn with that same murderous gleam in his eyes that made her swallow audibly.

"You. Did. WHAT?" he barked out the last word.

"Chill, dude, they're just cookies." Puck shrugged. Kurt's left eye twitched as he looked over at the boy.

"They are NOT just cookies Noah Puckerman! They are the holy grail of baked goods! Judy Fabray should be revered as the goddess of baking for making such a delectable treat. Saying they are 'just cookies' is like saying Barbra Streisand is 'just another actress.'"

Rachel gasped in shock and horror. Kurt continued.

"It's totally absurd. And bordering on downright sinful!" he said, then turned back to the blonde. "Now I demand to know why you would give such tasty treats to Finn Hudson. What has that boy done to prove he is so worthy?"

"He defended me yesterday when the team got skeptical about me being a girl." Quinn stated softly. Kurt took in a deep breath and seemed to calm down.

"Understandable." He stated with a nod and backed up a step.

"Wait, I defended you too, where are my cookies?" Puck said. Quinn rolled her eyes and reached into her bag, pulling out another container and handed it to him. He grabbed the container happily and opened it up, once again revealing that amazing smell of freshly baked goods.

"How do you have so many?" Rachel asked. Quinn shrugged.

"I told my mom I wanted to take some with me to school today and she made three whole batches, mainly cause my dad had already had like…fifteen…come to think of it I think he threw up from eating so many and then ate some more… I don't know." She said with another shrug.

"So does that mean…?" Kurt asked.

"Yes, I have some for lunch as well." Quinn nodded and Kurt bounced up and down, clapping happily. She rolled her eyes and reached into her bag again, handing yet another container of the cookies in subject to Rachel.

"What? I don't…Quinn you know I'm-" the short brunette began.

"They're vegan. My mom went to the store yesterday and bought as many vegan ingredients as she could. She said if you and I were friends that meant you were welcome to our house any time and that also meant that we needed to have vegan ingredients around the house to fit your dietary needs." Quinn said. Rachel looked up at her. Her jaw dropped and tears stung her eyes. She ignored the container completely and wrapped her arms around Quinn's back before heaving out a loud sob into her chest.

"O-Oh m-my GOD!" Rachel sobbed out painfully.

"Rach? What happened? Did I say something wrong?" Quinn said, suddenly concerned. She shoved the container into Kurt's hands so that she could wrap her arms around the smaller girl. There was no verbal answer, just the feeling of Rachel shaking her head slowly against her chest. "Then what is it? Why are you crying? Did…did something happen?"

"Every thing's fine Quinn." Rachel sighed out, wiping away a tear. "Every thing's just…perfect."

"So…happy tears?" Quinn asked, looking down and pulling the girl away to look into her eyes. Rachel didn't want to let go at first, but then gave in and looked the blonde in the eyes. She nodded at her.

"Yeah." She said, her lips trembling as she beamed up at the other girl. "Happy tears."

"Holy CRAP!" Puck groaned out happily. "This is the best shit I've ever tasted! I think I'm gonna have on orgasm!"

"GROSS!" the other three yelled out in unison, earning them a few curious looks from the students in the hall way. Quinn just shrugged at them as Rachel pulled her in for another incredibly tight hug.

Damn, for a tiny girl she's strong as all hell.

"Okay." Rachel's voice broke her out of her thoughts. She pulled back and snatched the container from Kurt's hands. "Let's see what all the hype about these cookies are."

She opened the container and picked up a cookie, biting into it. Her eyes rolled back and she let out a pleasurable moan as the…what was it that Kurt called them? Delectable treat…melted in her mouth in a burst of amazing flavor the likes of which she had never experienced before.

"Puck was right about having an orgasm." She muttered, louder than she thought.

"Hot!" Quinn and Puck stated with a grin. Kurt merely cringed and then rolled his eyes. He turned to Rachel.

"May I have a bite? I want to see if Judy can make them taste as good with vegan ingredients." Kurt asked. Rachel nodded and he broke of a small piece of the cookie she had in her hands. He popped it into his mouth and mirrored Rachel's initial reaction to the taste. "Oh my God, that woman is a culinary genius!"

"Do you think there's a Tony award for best cookie?" Rachel mused as she took another bite. "We should nominate her immediately."

Quinn smiled at her three friends as Kurt nodded at her. The boy looked at Quinn hopefully and she rolled her eyes before handing him a container as well. She found herself thanking God and her mother's intelligence for the thin and lightweight set of Tupperware she had bought a few years back, stating that they were easy for carrying multiple containers at a time without taking up too much space. She decided it would be best not to inform them that she had a container for herself as well. Rachel was a safe bet but considering Puck and Kurt's reactions, they would most definitely try to steal it from her, not that there weren't more at home, but they tended to make the school day just a bit more bearable.

"There's more where that came from at home." Quinn stated.

"All in favor for raiding Quinn's house after school." Puck stated.

"Aye." Rachel and Kurt said in unison with raised hands. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Good thing my mom made more of the vegan ones too then." She said and she swore to God Rachel looked like she was about to cry again. The blonde smiled at her and Rachel leaned up, giving her a peck on the cheek. She smiled to herself more than anything after that. Puck was about to reach for his second cookie when Kurt grabbed his wrist.

"Save some for lunch." He stated. "They are simply to die for with some milk!"

"I'll hold you to that." Puck said with a nod. "Come on guys, we gotta get to class!"

They all nodded, closed their containers and walked to class together with huge grins on their faces (And quite possibly cookie crumbs on their face, but no one cared about that part.)

At the end of the day they all found themselves at Quinn's house. Quinn called out to her mother as soon as they walked in.

"Mom! I'm home! And I brought fans!" she called and they all chuckled.

"What are you talking about sweetheart?" Judy said as she came out of the kitchen. She smiled at the three familiar faces that were accompanying her daughter.

"Puck, Kurt, Rachel, how lovely to see you again!" she said with a huge grin on her face.

"Hi Judy!" Kurt said, walking over and giving her a hug as he was so accustomed to now.

"Hi Mrs. Fabray." Puck and Rachel said politely from the door. Puck scratched the back of his neck nervously. Judy put her hands on her hips and feigned a stern look at both of them.

"Now just what did I tell you about this whole 'Mrs. Fabray' nonsense, you two?" she said and Rachel ducked her head shyly.

"Sorry." She said quietly, clearing her throat. "Hi Judy."

"That's better, now why are you so far away? Come and give good ol' Judy a hug hmm?" she said, holding her arms out open waiting for one of them to move. Rachel took a deep breath and remembered what Quinn had told her this morning about what her mother had done for her. She beamed at the older blonde and quickly closed up the space between them, enveloping her in a tight hug .

"Much better!" Judy said as she gave Rachel a tight squeeze. The two women pulled back and Rachel smiled at Judy who smiled back. "Now tell me, it was my first time baking with vegan ingredients, did I nail it?"

"Right on the head Judy!" Rachel said with a happy giggle. Judy's grin grew wider and she hugged the girl again.

"Good! There are plenty more were those came from!" she said as she finally released the small girl. Kurt, Quinn and Puck were already making a dash for the kitchen, however Judy was able to get into Puck's way. He halted himself before he could accidentally trample the woman who was standing just at the same height as Quinn was and had her arms crossed over her chest. He gulped audibly at her quirked eyebrow, the mirror image of her daughter's.

"Now, young man, I do believe you still owe me a hug!" Judy said and let her facade break to reveal the smile she was so desperately fighting to intimidate the young boy. Puck grinned widely at her as she opened up her arms. He enveloped her in a tight hug.

"It's good to see you again, Judy." He said happily.

"You too Puck." Judy said as she pulled back, and before she knew it the boy disappeared into the kitchen with the rest of his friends. Judy rolled her eyes and walked over to the kitchen. There were several cooling trays with cookies on them and Kurt and Puck chose exactly the same one to fight over while Rachel sat across from them and watched, munching down on a cookie taken from a tray which was marked as vegan to avoid confusion. Puck and Kurt already had a half-bitten cookie in one hand each and were slapping each other's hands away trying to snatch the same cookie. Quinn and Judy stood side by side with mirrored expressions, then turned their heads to smile at each other.

"Mom." Quinn said.

"Yes dear?" Judy replied.

"Your cookies could start a third world war." Quinn stated matter-of-factly.

"Thank you dear, I do take pride in my work." Judy smiled at her daughter. Quinn shrugged.

"I know." She said with a smile, looking back at her friends.

"Quinn?" Judy said.

"Hmm?" Quinn hummed, not turning her head this time.

"I have a feeling we'll be seeing plenty more of your friends around here, correct?" Judy asked. Quinn just smiled at the thought and nodded.

"Yeah mom, I have a feeling." Quinn said with a wide smile.

"Quinn?" her mother said again.

"Yeah mom?" Quinn responded.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Judy said warmly. Quinn turned to smile at her mother and then look back at her friends.

"Me neither, mom. Me neither."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I know! I know! I suck, I apologize dearly for the long wait for this update, but a roller coaster of things happened. I posted the last chapter on my birthday and spent that week celebrating with different groups of people. June came with a lot of family issues and July is a whole paragraph on it's own.**

**I had a trip to Italy in July that had been planned since April. In the meantime I had exams. A few days before I left I got my results back that said I hadn't passed math and needed to do a make up exam. The day before I left for Italy I got the tragic news of Cory's death (R.I.P. Angel 3 ) and ever since then my heads been reeling over what to do with this story.**

**There are a few things that require explaining:**

**First off I got a few reviews telling me about Quinn getting her letterman jacket when she joined the team, honestly we don't have Varsity sports in high schools where I'm from, so I don't know anything about that. I didn't know about it when I wrote it and I'm not going to change it now cause that will just confuse everyone. Just enjoy Quinn Fabray in a letter man, everyone's happy :P**

**Now, onto the tough stuff: People have commented telling me how happy they are that Finn is the nice guy in this story. Now ORIGINALLY I had planned for him to do a complete one-eighty. I already had a scene written out where a huge fight between him and Quinn ensued, however, due to unforeseeable tragic circumstances, I cannot in good conscience bash Finn. Finn Hudson himself was never a favourite character of mine, however Cory Monteith was a great man and he deserves to be honoured in any way possible, so I've decided to honour him in this way.**

**I will not bash Finn Hudson, but I cannot write him any more. It hurts too much to think about the fact that there is no more Finn now. so what I'm going to do is slowly work him out of the story. I won't kill him off. The fandom as a whole (No matter the ships) has suffered greatly through his tragic loss and now we have to ready ourselves for the undoubtedly heartbreaking third episode of the new season. Those of the fandom that take the time to read this story deserve a break from it all. **

**That being said, when he does get written out of the story, he will not disappear. He will have a valid reason and he will have some heartfelt words with a good number of the main characters. That chapter will be a dedication to Cory's memory as the great man we know him. **

**I hope I haven't disappointed any of you by not keeping him on in the story, but if I have please understand that I cannot keep him in the story without making him seem the slightest bit bad, and that is something I cannot do in good conscience.**

**Before I leave you to read this chapter I'd like to take a moment to thank Dclark for the Porsche idea, you'll understand what I mean when you read it. I'd also like to thank my friend Myra for making the new cover image for this story! You rock dude!**

**Now without further adieu, enjoy the chapter :)**

* * *

The next day the four friends went through their usual Thursday routine. Meet up at Quinn's locker (Because she somehow always took too damn long at that thing.) and go through their morning playfulness. Inquire about cookies (A large container was in her bag, however it was agreed upon to save them for lunch.) and walk each other to class. Their routine was never really discussed, it's just something that generally happened, and the four of them wouldn't have it any other way.

They all walked in to the cafeteria together. By now most of the student body was used to seeing them hanging out. The cheerleaders were a bit of an annoyance at the beginning, wondering why on earth their beloved leader would hang out with the school player and the two known 'losers.' However word still got around about her date with Finn, which somehow balanced it all at, that coupled with the fact that Quinn was Charlie Fabray's sister and now a player on the basket ball team meant that all the talk died down just as fast as it started up. Rachel still maintained her HBIC attitude around her team, Sue Sylvester wouldn't allow anything less. The coach wasn't quite too happy about her head cheerio joining the glee club, thanks to her feud with Mr. Schuester, but as long as Rachel was never late for practice and kept up her grades as well as her intensity when it came to bossing the other cheerleaders around, she didn't care. In her own words, 'she had more important things to worry about then a bunch of mouth breathing losers singing and dancing around like they were in some big peppy gay pride parade.' And while her words pissed Rachel off, because the glee kids were her friends, she smiled at the fact that the cheer leading coach wasn't going to stop her from being in glee, which she still needed for her extra credit from Mr. Schue.

They sat at their usual table, laughing and eating their lunch (The pieces which weren't being chucked and flicked at each other all in the name of playful fun.) When suddenly they were surrounded by four Jocks, Santana and Brittany. All of which had a slushy in their hand. Quinn and Kurt gulped audibly, a knee jerk reaction to anyone holding one of those big quench cups, while Puck and Rachel gave death glares to the jocks in their sight, daring them to even spill a drop on them or their friends. Suddenly Santana's voice broke the silent tension.

"Drop them and walk." She ordered. The four jocks placed the slushy cups in front of each of the four friends, along with a straw, and walked away. One of them even patted Quinn on the shoulder and said a quick 'see you at practice Fabray.' Which she thought was a nice change to the usual treatment.

"Uhh…What's going on?" Kurt asked, confused as to why he was not covered in cold syrup but yet looking at the drink in front of him tentatively.

"Consider these a peace offering." Santana said. Brittany smiled at them as each of the four looked up at the two other cheer leaders.

"I'm sorry what?" Puck asked.

"Can we sit?" Brittany asked gently. Quinn shot Rachel a questioning glance and, when she saw her give her a quick node, shifted closer to Kurt to make room for the other blonde, who sat down with a small wave and a cheerful "Hi."

"Hi." Quinn smiled at her.

"You're Quinn, right? Charlie Fabray's sister? That is really cool, and you look hot in your letterman by the way." The blue eyed blonde said sweetly and innocently.

"Thanks." Quinn said with a blush and a shrug.

"So. As I was saying." Santana cut in. "We're here to make a truce. What I did to Rachel totally sucked and…I'm sorry…I guess."

Rachel smiled at the girl because she knew it was difficult for the Latina to admit her mistakes and apologize, which meant she wouldn't do so unless she meant every word.

"You each have a slushy in front of you. Like I said, it's a peace offering, I want to apologize to Rachel and to you guys too, I sucked and I'm sorry. I hope we can all be friends." Santana said again, looking at each person to gauge their reaction. Brittany was smiling at her proudly and Rachel gave her a small nod. The other three were looking at her warily for a minute, not sure whether or not what was happening was genuine.

"Look, I know I've been a total bitch to all of you. I slushied the daylights out of you two, and I totally bitch slapped Puck once, and I want to make it up to you. I know it's not going to be as easy as buying slushies for all of you, but I hope it can be a start…you don't have to say anything to me cause I know I probably don't deserve it. You don't even have to talk to me, just…drink your slushies and if you forgive me…and throw it in my face if you don't." The Latina finished quietly. Everyone was looking at her while she looked down at the table, silently preparing herself for a shower of cold, colorful syrup and ice. Brittany looked at them quietly while stirring the straw in her own drink. Rachel glanced over at Quinn who looked at her and took a deep breath.

"Santana." The blonde said, catching the Latina's attention. "The thing with this group of friends is, no matter how much you suck, we'll always give you a second chance."

"But yesterday you said-"

"That you had to apologize to Rachel, which I know you did because she told me. She also told me that you wanted to redeem yourself. You've been totally shitty to us for over a year now, so this by no means wraps all that up, you still have to prove yourself before we can trust you fully. But it's a start. Usually you start with baby steps. This is a big step. You came over here with a peace offering and you apologized. You gave us a chance at revenge, but we're not going to take it. Well…I'm not a mind reader, I don't know what these guys are thinking, but I'm not going to take it." Quinn said, and with that she grabbed the straw next to her cup, removed the paper wrapper and popped it into her drink before taking a long sip of her slushy. Santana smiled at her, it wasn't her mischievous smirk, or the hateful sneer she would give before laughing in someone's face. It was a genuine smile of thanks for the blonde accepting her apology. She looked over to Brittany who was still beaming with pride at her best friend.

"Me neither." Kurt piped up, grabbing his own straw. "You may be a bitch, but your comebacks are hilarious, you know, when they aren't being directed at me."

"We were too alike to date S, you're like a my female counterpart. And I've had worse things happen then a girl bitch slapping me." He said with a chuckle. He grabbed his cup and forgot about the straw all together, taking a huge gulp and swirling it around in his mouth before swallowing and waggling his now blue tongue out in front of everyone, causing them to burst out in laughter. Santana smiled at Rachel, who simply smiled back and held up her palm. Santana's smile widened and she high fived her as the shorter brunette put the straw into her own cup.

"So does that mean we're all friends now?" Brittany asked with a smile.

"Yeah Britt, we're all friends." Quinn nodded. The blue eyed girl clapped excitedly and hugged the other blonde tightly before sipping at her slushy. Kurt looked at Quinn.

"Cookies." He whispered loudly to her and Santana gave him a confused look before Quinn rolled her eyes and took out the large container. She opened the box and everyone took a huge whiff of the smell that wafted out of it.

"Holy shit, what are those?" Santana exclaimed at the smell.

"Quinn's mom makes the best cookies on earth!" Rachel explained with a smile.

"I can smell that!" Santana exclaimed before rubbing her hands hands together. "Step aside vegan Berry, I needs to get my cookie on!"

"Oh! That reminds me!" Quinn said and reached into her bag again, pulling out a smaller container and handing it to Rachel.

"Yo she gets her own cookies?" Santana asked as she picked one out of the container.

"My mom makes vegan ones for her." Quinn said with a shrug. Santana stared at her with her jaw wide open.

"That's so nice." Brittany said with a smile.

"Yeah, wow your mom actually does that for her?" Santana said, albeit with a full mouth.

"Oh her mother is wonderful! You two should meet her she's amazing!" Rachel said happily.

"You guys can come over this weekend if you want." Quinn said as she took a bite.

"That would be cool. Hey you're alright Fabray." Santana said with a smile.

"Told you, all you had to do was give them a chance." Rachel muttered quietly to Santana who smiled at her and nodded. "Oh by the way we're all going to my place after practice. You can join if you want."

"Yay!" Brittany clapped happily.

And just like that, their group of four became six.

After lunch they all had class which went off without a hitch. Between fifth and sixth period Quinn was at her locker, switching her books.

"Yo." She heard a voice behind her. She turned to find the Latina standing behind her and offered her a happy smile.

"Hey Santana, what's up? How was class?" she asked.

"Boring as fuck. What else is new? Anyway, so did you give any thought to our date yet?" Santana asked.

"Listen, San, you're a nice girl, you know when you're not scaring the shit out of everyone-"

"Aww, you sweet talker you." Santana said with a chuckle. Quinn rolled her eyes and couldn't help but chuckle too.

"The thing is I'm not really into dating." Quinn shrugged.

"You mean, you're not into dating anyone who isn't Rachel." Santana said. Quinn's eyes grew wide.

"What? N-no that not what I-" Quinn stammered.

"Cut the crap, Q! I see the way you look at her, it's so obvious just by the way you give her that love sick smile." Santana said. Quinn took a deep breath and rested her forehead against the lockers.

"Is it that obvious?" she asked.

"Only because I have a Mexican third eye. I can see things others can't." Santana shrugged.

"You can't tell her. Please." Quinn pleaded.

"Relax, your secret's safe with me…I…I know what it feels like to love someone you can't have." Santana said, looking away for a minute.

"Brittany?" Quinn asked without a second thought.

"How did you…You're not part Latina are you?" Santana asked.

"No. But I do have a brain. I saw the way you smile at her, the way you kiss her on the cheek when she says something a little…quirky." Quinn said, careful as to how to put her words to not piss off the girl in front of her.

"She's the smartest girl I've ever met. She just thinks differently." Santana said quickly. Quinn just nodded in agreement.

"Wait so if you're crushing on Brittany why did you ask me out?" Quinn asked.

"I'm not gonna lie, liking girls, it's not the easiest thing to admit to in a town like this. I thought maybe now since you're on the team it would balance things out and people would keep their mouths shut." Santana admitted.

"I get what you mean." Quinn nodded.

"Look it doesn't even have to be a date, let's just go out to dinner, as friends, what do you say?" Santana offered. Quinn nodded.

"Okay, dinner as friends." Quinn smiled at her and she smiled back.

"And if it makes you feel better, you're way hotter than Finnocence!" Santana said. Quinn chuckled.

"Yeah, that helps." Quinn said. She took a deep breath. "Listen I gotta get to class, see you in glee?"

"You know it."Santana said with a nod. Quinn smiled at her and walked off down the hall. Only to walk up to Kurt who is standing looking at her with his arms crossed.

"You're going out with her aren't you?" he asked.

"Just dinner between two friends." Quinn said, her hands up in surrender.

"Are you trying to make Rachel jealous?" He asked bluntly.

"What in the world would give you that idea?" she asked.

"Did you not see the reaction she had when you told her that she asked you out? She nearly had a heart attack!" Kurt said.

"What in the hell are you talking about? She felt sick, it was a brief bout of vertigo." Quinn said.

"Oh please. You believe that, and she believes that, and the frickin nurse believes that, but you and I both know that no girl just gets dizzy out of nowhere!" Kurt argued.

"Maybe she's on her-"

"Lalala don't say it!" Kurt ordered, his fingers in his ears.

"My point is, there could be a million and one reasons she felt dizzy and sick, me going out with Santana is none of them!" Quinn dismissed.

"So you agree that it is a date?" Kurt demanded.

"I never said that." Quinn protested.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked bluntly again.

"You know what, she's dating Finn, what in the world is stopping me from dating Santana?" Quinn demanded. Kurt stopped and sighed.

"Sweetie, she's dating Finn because of her image." He said. "You know, head cheerio dates quarterback. It's like…I don't know an un written rule."

"Yeah well Rachel's not the kind of girl that follows those stupid image demands." Quinn argued. "And besides, I'm on the team now, why the hell shouldn't I date a cheerleader?"

"You can date as many cheerleaders as you want, Quinn, we all know there's only one that you really want to be with." Kurt said with a shrug. "I'll see you in glee."

And with that he turned on his heel and walked away. Quinn took a deep breath and just stood there feeling like crap, until the bell rang and she ran to class.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day, all Quinn could think about were Kurt and Santana's words. The only time she was able to clear her mind was during practice, and before she knew it that was over and she was gathering up her things and she suddenly felt someone climbing onto her back.

"What the-" She exclaimed. Suddenly two hands fell over her eyes, blocking her vision. "Help I'm being attacked!"

"Guess who!" Rachel's voice came into her ear.

"Oh my God! A munchkin escaped from Oz!" she exclaimed once again, this time laughing.

"Hey!" Rachel huffed, climbing off of Quinn's back. The blonde turned around to face her, still giggling at her own joke.

"You kind of asked for it Strawberry Shortcake!" Quinn said, playfully ruffling up Rachel's hair, or trying to while the brunette had it up in her high pony tail that Sue Sylvester required them to wear.

"Whatever." Rachel rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go, I want to get out of this God awful uniform before it clings to my skin permanently!"

"Why do you have to wear those everyday again?" Quinn asked as she and Rachel made their way to the locker rooms.

"Because Sue Sylvester is the devil re-incarnated." Rachel stated non chalantly. Quinn chuckled and shook her head. They walked into the locker room and changed, Quinn making sure to be hidden away from Rachel, luckily their lockers were at other ends of the room. They found everyone outside waiting for them and made their way out of the school.

"We're all for Berry's place right?" Santana asked.

"Yeah." Quinn nodded.

"Then hop in." She said with a smile as she clicked her car key remote to unlock a black SUV. They all climbed into the car and Santana drove them to Rachel's house. The shorter brunette led them inside.

"My dads are still at work, so we've got the place to ourselves!" Rachel told them.

"Sweet, where's the booze?" Puck and Santana said in unison. Everyone turned to look at them with wide eyes. The two just looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"No booze you two." Rachel said with a giggle.

"Pssh." Puck scoffed.

"Sucks already." Santana muttered playfully.

"Good God you two could be twins. No wonder you didn't work out!" Kurt exclaimed, following Rachel to the kitchen where the brunette had brought out sodas for all of them.

"I told you we were to alike to date." Puck said.

"Good to have you as my bro though." Santana said, fist bumping the mo-hawked boy. Quinn smiled at the two and Brittan clapped happily.

"I love how we're all friends now!" she said cheerfully and Rachel wrapped an arm around the blonde with a smile in agreement. Kurt looked to Quinn and smiled knowingly at her.

A few weeks ago they had all hated each other. Now they were all sitting at Rachel's breakfast bar and talking about their day.

"Ugh, there are times I absolutely hate being head cheerleader." Rachel groaned.

"Whenever you're done with it, hit me up." Santana teased.

"Not on your life, Lopez!" Rachel snapped playfully, sending everyone into another burst of laughter.

"What happened Rach?" Quinn asked.

"Sue got pissed at two cheerleaders and kicked them off the squad, now we have to hold tryouts and as her 'second in command' I have to be there and watch her yell at every poor girl who even dares try out!" Rachel explained.

"Can boys join?" Kurt asked.

"Yes, why?" Rachel asked.

"I was thinking of joining, but I thought I had lost my chance." Kurt shrugged.

"That would be amazing Kurt!" Rachel said.

"You really want to put yourself under Sue's command?" Santana said. Kurt shrugged.

"Why not? I'm not sport material like basketball or football, but I can move! I think it'd be fun." He explained.

"With Sue, it's anything but fun, but if you can keep up with her then you'll be fine." Rachel shrugged.

"So you're okay with it?" Kurt asked.

"Of course! I would love to have you by our side!" Rachel beamed at the boy who smiled back.

"Dude, at this rate we're gonna rule McKinley!" Puck said happily.

"What are you talking about?" Quinn asked.

"Check it. You and me are on the team, the rest of the girls and my boy Kurt are or are gonna be on the squad. Plus, we've got Rachel and, let's face it Q, you're a shoe in for team captain!" Puck gushed. "We're gonna be a power team in our own right!"

"I don't think coach Beiste is going to make me captain Puck, though I am flattered." Quinn dismissed.

"No way dude, I totally saw her checking out your game during practice. Our current captain graduates later this year, after the championship game, should we go that far, which means she'll need a replacement!" Puck informed. Quinn nodded.

"I know, but I just joined, it would be kind of hard, besides isn't Finn looking to be captain?" Quinn asked.

"Whatever man. Listen Finn's my bro too, by he isn't half as good as you are. Besides, he has the football team to lead, he should leave basket ball to you! It's in your blood after all." Puck reasoned.

"Whatever, it's in coach's hands, I really don't want to over think it. If she is considering me, it's because of how I play, not who I am." Quinn responded. Puck nodded.

"Okay but you know my money will always be on you, right?" Puck asked.

"Yeah dude, thanks." Quinn said, giving him a light fist bump.

"Okay can you two stop making out so we can talk about something other than basketball?" Santana said. Quinn and Puck grimaced at her insinuation while the rest of the group giggled.

They sat around talking for about an hour before a car was heard parking outside and the door being unlocked.

"Baby girl?" a deep voice was heard calling from the door. "I'm home!"

"In the kitchen daddy!" Rachel called. A tall dark skinned man walked in a minute later.

"Oh hello." He said cheerfully as he saw the five other teenagers sitting around the bar. "I'm confused, I only remember adopting one kid."

The rest of the group giggled at Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Daddy! These are my friends, you know Santana and Brittany." She began.

"I do, nice to see you two again." He smiled at the taller blonde and the Latina who smiled back.

"These are my new friends, the ones I told you about? This is Noah, though everyone calls him Puck, this is Kurt!" she said, then placed a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "And this is Quinn, Russel Fabray's daughter."

Leroy's face lit up as he was reminded of his old college friend. He shook everyone's hand and gave a warm smile to all of them.

"Well it's nice to meet you all, I heard a lot about you three." He said to the three newest faces to ever be in his house.

"That can't be good for Puck." Santana jibed. All six teenagers snickered except for Puck who just pouted and crossed his arms.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Chill dude, she's just messing with you." Quinn said with a chuckle. Leroy couldn't help but chuckle a little as well.

"So, Quinn, my daughter tells me you play basketball." The tall dark man commented. Quinn nodded, but Puck laid a hand on her shoulder and spoke before she had a chance to respond.

"She doesn't just play, sir, she's the best player's McKinley's ever seen! Even better than yours truly." He said with a thumb pointed to himself. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"I think Puck's exaggerating just a little bit, Mr. Berry." She dismissed.

"Please, Quinn, Mr. Berry was my father, I'm Leroy, that goes for everyone, got it?" he said with a smile. Everyone nodded happily.

"Rachel your dad is so cool…what the heck happened with you?" Puck joked. He got kicked under the table in response. "OW!"

"Dude, you kind of asked for that one." Quinn said through her giggling. Puck pouted again.

"Are you going to have that kicked puppy look every time someone owns you Puckerman?" Santana chuckled.

"Why would anyone kick a puppy?" Brittany asked seriously. "That's just mean."

Santana rubbed her shoulder a little and nodded in agreement. It didn't go unnoticed by Quinn how she always acted like such a hard ass but turned into a total sap for the taller blonde. Their eyes met in mutual understanding before Quinn turned to Rachel and smiled at her. The brunette smiled at her in thanks for defending her and Puck rolled his eyes.

"Kurt, buddy, help a brother out over here." Puck pleaded to the boy.

"Honorary girl over here Puckerman." Kurt shrugged.

"I am so freaking outnumbered it ain't even funny." He grumbled, taking a sip of his soda. Leroy chuckled and patted the boy on the shoulder sympathetically.

"You should see me try and win an argument against this one and her father, son." He said, gesturing to Rachel. At being called 'son' something lit up in Puck's eyes and he smiled at the taller man, who chuckled while glancing over at his daughter who glared at him. He patted Puck on the shoulder one more time with a smile and stood up, walking over to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water.

"You're on the team too, right Puck?" he asked.

"Yes sir." Puck answered with a smile.

"So you two are team mates?" he said, gesturing to Quinn who nodded at him.

"Puck was the one who convinced me to try out." Quinn said with a smile towards the boy.

"After I saw that she was a kick ass basketball player!" Puck added matter of factly. Leroy chuckled and Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Honestly everyone on the team makes me out to be this goddess of basketball, if it weren't for their support I don't think I'd be half as good." Quinn shrugged.

"Dude, you kicked my ass on your own, and we all know I'm damn good!" Puck bragged.

"Psht, yeah, sure you are." Santana scoffed, shooting a playful wink at Quinn, who chuckled in response.

"Hey!" puck defended. "I am good!"

"Yeah you are dude, otherwise you wouldn't be on the team!" Quinn clapped him on the shoulder as she got up to trash her empty soda can.

"Well, why don't you kids head on to the living room, play some video games, and I'll make you all some sandwiches?" Leroy offered.

"Wait! Rachel plays video games?" Puck asked with a disbelieving, amused smile on his face. "Oh this I gotta see!"

He got up and stormed his way to the living room like an excited five year old and screamed happily when he saw the Play station set up next to the DVD player. Rachel rolled her eyes and followed him, the rest of the group trailing behind her.

"Don't wet yourself on my dads' carpet Puckerman!" the short brunette called as she walked into the living room to see Puck already going through the shelf where they kept all the video games.

"Rachel, dude, I had no idea you were a gamer!" he said, two cases in each hand with a huge grin on his face.

"I need something to do with my time besides cheerios, homework and singing and dance classes." The brunette shrugged. "Besides most of them are used for family game night."

"Sweet! She had GTA!" Puck announced raising the case in the air.

"You have any multiplayers?" Santana asked the shorter girl before going over to the shelf next to Puck.

"There's a racing one." Rachel pointed out, turning around and rolling her eyes at the other three teens that stood behind her, each of which chuckling at her.

"Yo Q! Wanna play?" Puck said, picking up the game. "It takes three players!"

"What about Rachel though? Rach, you wanna play?" the blonde asked.

"Not really, I've already beaten both my dads in that game, I know all the tips and tricks, it's way too easy for me now, child's play." Rachel waved off.

"Sweet, you wanna help a jewbro out?" Puck said as he came up to her with a grin on his face.

"Not helping anyone, it'll be a fair fight." Rachel said, plopping down on the couch, Brittany and Kurt following her. Puck pulled the disk out of the case and slipped it into the CD slot in the Play Station as Quinn and Santana grabbed two of the three controllers off the table and sat down in front of the couch on the floor. Rachel bit her lip and playfully messed Quinn's hair up from behind as she settled in. Quinn chuckled and swatted her away.

"Don't mess the do!" she protested.

"Oh please, did you even have the time to brush it this morning?" Kurt asked with a hitched eyebrow. Quinn looked down at her lap for a second.

"I slept in okay?" she said quietly and the rest of the group chuckled as Puck sat down between her and the Latina on the carpet.

"Okay, let's get our game on!" he said determinedly. He grabbed the controller off the table and started the game up.

"Player one. Choose your car." A deep male voice said from the speakers.

"Dude Samuel L. Jackson is in your TV." Santana chuckled.

"Oh no! Let him out!" Brittany said, genuinely concerned. Santana reached behind her and patted the taller blonde's knee gently as Quinn chose her car, a convertible Porsche, and chose black as the main color with dark blue stripes on the side.

"Nice car, Q!" Rachel said.

"Very nice color choice." Kurt nodded.

"Sweet stats, bro, nice choice!" Puck added, holding his fist up for her to bump hers with it, which she did.

"Thanks, it's kind of my dream car." She chuckled.

"Yeah, that'll take a lot of begging to daddy dearest, am I right?" Santana teased.

"Psht, tell me about it!" Quinn scoffed. She finished up the last few things on choosing her car and then it was Puck's turn. He chose a Ferrari, also convertible, and left it with the original colors.

"Those colors are classics!" he defended when he was accused of being cliche by both Kurt and Rachel. Then it was Santana's turn. She chose a sporty Hyundai and colored it a dark purple and black.

"Hot." Brittany stated as Santana reached behind her and held her palm out for the taller blonde to slap it.

"Okay. Cars are chosen, let the game begin! And may the best man win!" Puck said cockily.

"Or girl!" Santana and Quinn shot towards him simultaneously, high fiving each other over his head as the three spectators giggled. The game started, the three cars showing up side by side, the screen split into three, as the countdown started.

"Racers ready?" TV Samuel L. Jackson asked. They all pressed the A button to signal yes. "On your marks. Get set. Race!"

They all pushed the right joysticks up to accelerate their cars, Puck instantly using up his turbo to get a head start.

"Catch me if you can, bitches!" he teased.

"Oh no, rookie mistake number one." Leroy commented as he walked into the living room, placing a large plate of sandwiches on the table along with another six pack of soda before settling into the armchair to the right of the living room to watch the three teenagers play. "Ooh, who's Porsche is that?"

"Quinn's" Rachel answered.

"Nice choice." Leroy commented.

"Thank you." Quinn answered simply, her eyes never leaving the screen. Puck's Ferrari staggered behind the Porsche and the Hyundai as his turbo ran out.

"No. No. No!" he protested. "Come on baby go!"

"Told you it was rookie mistake number one." Leroy remarked as Puck gritted his teeth and pushed the right joystick up harder.

"Don't hurt yourself, Puck." Rachel commented with an amused giggle at how aggravated the boy seemed to be getting. Quinn reached a long stretch in the track and hit the turbo, gaining a good distance between her and the other two. Santana followed her lead but was not able to reach her as the Hyundai's full speed was less than the Porsche's.

"Go Quinn!" Rachel and Kurt cheered.

"Faster San!" Brittany cheered the Latina on.

"Eat my dust losers!" Quinn said as she drifted at a curve and hit the accelerate again, still in first place as she crossed the finish line for the first lap out of four. Puck hit the turbo as soon as it was full again and was about to reach her but hit the side on the road and was turned around.

"Dammit I'm stuck!" he said as he fiddled with the controls to try and turn himself back around.

"Loser!" Santana remarked.

"Oh come on dude, not cool!" Puck complained.

"Give it here, let me get you out!" Quinn offered.

"No Quinn, Santana will beat you!" Kurt protested. Quinn dropped her controlled in her lap and took Puck's. She fiddled around with the controls until she had the Ferrari turned the right way around. By now Santana's Hyundai had gotten past Quinn's Porsche and was almost halfway around the second lap. She handed Puck back the controller.

"Thanks Q!" he said, taking his controller back and hitting the accelerate again. Quinn grabbed her own and started up again. Santana's car had come into view just as the Latina used up her turbo again. They drove neck and neck, Pucks car coming up next to them as well, before Quinn hit the turbo and went past them again on the stretch, creating a good amount of distance between her and the two before letting go of the turbo button.

"What the hell Q! You only used half of it!" Puck said as he focused on his own driving, careful not to smash into the side of the road again.

"That's all I need. The less I use the quicker it reloads!" She said before drifting at the curve and accelerating again past the finish line. Two laps down, two laps to go and she was still in first place. Santana was gaining up on Puck but he kept driving ahead of her. She pushed the turbo until she came up beside him and them crashed into him before using the rest of the turbo to get some distance away from him. Quinn saw that she was gaining up on her and was trying to do the same so she used some of her own turbo to get away from her.

"Nice try Lopez!" she said with a proud chuckle.

"Oh it's on blondie!" the Latina challenged before burning out all her turbo to get to Quinn. Before she could crash into the blonde, however, Quinn anticipated her move and crashed into her, slamming her into the side of the road before she had the chance and then driving off.

The next two laps lasted ten minutes in total, Quinn driving past the finish line first and launching off the ground in celebration.

"Yes!" She shouted, controller still in hand as she jumped up and down. Rachel, Kurt and Puck laughed with her as Brittany rubbed Santana's shoulders while the Latina pouted.

"It's okay San, I know you'll win next time." She cooed.

"Yeah, I guess." Santana said, smiling over at the blonde cheerleader before standing up.

"Come on guys lets go up to my room." Rachel suggested as she lead the way to the stairs.

"Boys?! Up in your room?! I don't think so missy!" Leroy warned. Rachel rolled her eyes while Kurt raised his eyebrow and Puck stood there and tried to look innocent.

"It's cool daddy, dad isn't here, you don't have to act like a responsible parent." Rachel reminded him. The tall man smiled up at his daughter.

"Oh yeah, right. Well take the sandwiches, I didn't make them for nothing." He reminded them, pointing to the still full plate and the sodas on the coffee table.

"Sweet! Thanks Mr. B!" Puck said, grabbing the plate off the table and making his way upstairs. "Hey Rach which is your roo- Never mind! I found it!"

"Puck! I told you! Call me Leroy!" the tall man called up.

"Oh shi-shoot…right…" Puck muttered before calling back. "Thanks Leroy!"

"I like that boy." Leroy chuckled as he sat back in his chair and switched the TV from the Play station to the channels. Rachel rolled her eyes again with a smile and gestured for her friends to follow her up the stairs. Quinn grabbed the sodas off the table.

"Thanks again Leroy." She said with a smile. He held up his fist in response and she bumped her gently against it.

"Ain't no thing kiddo." He said as they followed Rachel upstairs. When they walked into her room they found Puck lounging on the bed with a half eaten sandwich in his mouth.

"Puckerman you get any crumbs on my bed I will unleash Santana on you!" Rachel threatened, before looking at the Latina who nodded at her and glared at Puck with an evil smirk. The mo-hawked boy gulped audibly and quickly scrambled off the bed, placing the plate of sandwiches on the desk before going back to the bed and thoroughly brushing off any crumbs, inspecting it after wards to be sure.

"All clean." He said with a innocent grin. Rachel giggled before taking the sodas from Quinn and placing them on the desk as well. She pulled out her desk chair and rolled it closer to the bed before sitting on it, Santana, being used to coming over to Rachel's house, lounged back on the bed, grabbing a magazine which was on the nightstand. Brittany climbed up next to her and rested her head on her shoulder Puck opted for a seat on the carpet while Kurt perched himself on the edge of the bed and Quinn, ever the sophisticated lady, jumped up on the desk and grabbed two cans of soda.

"Puckerman, think fast." She said to the mo hawked boy who turned towards her in time to catch a flying can of soda. She cracked hers open and took a few large gulps. The two belched simultaneously.

"Gross."

"Quinn!"

"Oh my Lord!"

"Nice bro!" Puck cheered.

"Ditto!" she replied to the boy, ignoring the three protests while Brittany just giggled.

"That was funny." She muttered to Santana who still cringed at the two.

"Seriously Q, you are such a guy!" she scoffed.

"Umm, excuse me, I'm a guy!" Kurt defended.

"Yeah but Kurt you said it yourself that you're an honorary girl." Rachel pointed out.

"True." Kurt shrugged.

"Gender roles suck." Puck blurted out bluntly. "You be whoever the fuck you want to be, whoever has a problem with it can suck my-"

"While that is incredibly noble of you, Noah, I do have to ask you to mind your language in my house." Rachel cut him off. Puck nodded once in understanding.

"Lollipop." He stated as if he was never cut off. Quinn chuckled while Brittany looked up like an excited puppy.

"Ooh, Rae, do you have any lollipops?" the tall blonde asked, knowing Rachel always kept a stash of lollipops since it was her method of concentration. Rachel smiled at the blonde and nodded as she got up and walked towards her desk. She grabbed Quinn's legs and opened them wide, opening the drawer which was behind them while Quinn just looked at her confused. Rachel pulled out a few lollipops before closing the drawer and shooting Quinn a playful wink. She crossed over to Brittany and let her choose a flavor. Brittany happily picked a grape one for herself while Santana picked a strawberry one and Rachel took a cherry one.

"You guys want one?" she asked Quinn and the boys who shook their heads.

"You do not want to see me on a candy rush." Kurt warned.

"It happened last Halloween. He was jumping off the walls, fucking hilarious." Quinn told them.

"That's something I gotta see!" Santana chuckled while Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Never again, I puked so much that night I thought I was going to die." He shuddered a little at the memory.

"You should see him drunk. He'll start spouting up this story how he's somehow related to the British royal family." Quinn said with a chuckle.

"Seventh in line to the throne, I don't need to be drunk for that one." He stated proudly. Quinn laughed out loud while Puck chuckled and Rachel stood in front of Kurt, curtsying dramatically.

"Your majesty." She said in a fake British accent before bursting out in a giggle and Santana threw herself back on the bed in laughter, Brittany giggling along as well.

"You people laugh now, but when I'm sitting on the throne with a crown on my head, you'll be sorry." He scoffed, crossing his arms and raising his nose dramatically.

"Aww come on Kurty, we're just messing." Puck said playfully before pouncing on the boy and tickling his sides. Kurt instantly started protesting in between giggles.

"No! No! Puck stop!" he gasped and laughed. "Stop stop!"

"Say uncle! Say it!" Puck challenged the boy, not stopping until his demands were met.

"Uncle! Uncle! Get off!" Kurt said, trying but failing to push the much stronger boy off. Puck climbed off of Kurt, raising his fist in the air in victory when Quinn's phone rang.

"Shit! It's my dad, be quiet guys." Quinn said quickly before answering her phone. "Hello? Hey dad."

"Hey sport, where are you?" Russel said.

"Yo Q! Pass the joint man!" Puck said teasingly, earning a glare from the blonde.

"Q! Pass the condoms!" Santana shouted along before laughing wildly.

"Uhh, Quinn, is everything alright?" Russel asked.

"Yeah dad, my friends are just being idiots." She chuckled nervously. Rachel stepped up towards Quinn, whispering in the ear where the phone was.

"Baby," she whispered huskily. "Get off the phone and come back to bed, mmm."

Quinn's eyes went wide as her appendage twitched in response.

"Uhumm…Is there something you wanted dad?" She asked, ignoring Rachel as the brunette giggled, covering her mouth to keep it quiet.

"Uuuuuhhhhh…" a very confused Russel responded. "Just to tell you to not take too long to get home, I have a surprise for you!"

"Really?!" Quinn said, forgetting her friends' jokes and jumping like an excited five year old. "What is it? Whattya get me?"

Russel laughed heartily at his daughter's reaction. "Now now, sport, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?"

"No." Quinn huffed lightly. "Okay, I'll be home soon…what's for dinner?"

"Your mom's making your favorite." Russel stated.

"Sweet!" Quinn punched the air happily. "Okay, see you later dad!"

"See you later kiddo, love you!"

"Love you too daddy, bye." Quinn said before hanging up.

"Love you too daddy, bye." Santana mocked in a voice nothing like Quinn's.

"Shut your face Lopez!" Quinn said playfully, hopping off the desk. "I gotta go guys!"

"Aww, so soon?" Rachel said with a pout.

"Yeah sorry, dad got something for me and I wanna see what it is!" Quinn said happily. "Besides, mom's making my favorite, it's no good if it's cold."

"Okay." Rachel said, pout still in place. "Call me later?"

"Of course!" Quinn said. Rachel stepped up to the blonde and hugged her tightly, Quinn held her there for a minute, instinctively pressing a kiss to the top of her head before pulling away. Rachel smiled up at her shyly as she stepped over to Kurt and hugged him to. She bumped fists with Puck as Brittany shot up off the bed to give her a tight hug goodbye. Santana didn't move but she held up her fist for Quinn to bump against hers, much like Puck had done.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." She said with one final wave as she walked out of the bedroom and jogged down the stairs.

"Bye Mr. B!" she said quickly.

"Off so soon Quinn?" Leroy asked.

"Yeah my dad wants me home." She said with a smile.

"Alright kiddo, I'll see you later. Say hi to Russel and Judy for me okay? " Leroy said with a kind smile.

"Sure thing, see you!" Quinn waved at him before walking out the front door and making her way home.

—

Puck, Kurt, Santana and Brittany stayed at Rachel's house for a while longer before Burt called his son asking him to come home, as did Brittany's mom. They were reminded that it was a school night and they had homework to do and, although reluctantly, they agreed it would be best to go home. Kurt said goodbye and left first, saying a quick goodbye to Leroy on his way out. Puck decided to head home soon after, stating that his mom got worried even though she never said anything. He fist bumped Santana and hugged the girls goodbye before walking home. When Brittany's mom called, Santana offered to give her a ride which she accepted happily. Brittany got off the bed and wrapped Rachel up in a tight hug before walking out of the bedroom. Santana stood in front of the shorter brunette for a moment, arms crossed, before she took a deep breath and said what was on her mind the whole day.

"Thanks for giving me another chance." She said quietly. Rachel smiled up at the Latina happily.

"Thanks for giving my friends the chance they deserved." She responded. Santana smiled at her, finally able to meet her eyes and dropping her arms, the only defense she felt she needed.

"You were right, they really aren't that bad. Puck's really cool, and so is Kurt and so is Quinn." She said with a nod.

"Yeah she is…" Rachel said whimsically before catching herself. "I…I mean they all are…"

"You okay tiny?" Santana asked with a smile and a quirked eyebrow. Rachel smiled up at the old nickname and nodded.

"I'm fine." She stated.

"If you're sure." Santana shrugged. "I should go, I don't want to keep Brittany waiting, her mom gets worried about her."

Rachel nodded in understanding.

"Say hi to mama Lopez for me okay?" she asked. Santana smiled at her and nodded."

"Sure thing, tiny." Santana said before hugging the brunette, a move Rachel did not expect, but definitely welcomed. She hugged her back tightly.

"Rachel?" Santana said, not pulling away from the hug.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I was such a bitch." Santana mumbled. Rachel rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's okay mi amiga. We all make mistakes." Rachel responded. "You made up for yours the minute you came over to that lunch table. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks. I'm really happy you forgave me." Santana mumbled again.

"I'm happy I did too. I kind of missed you." Rachel admitted.

"Yeah, me too." The Latina said. They held each other for a moment, enjoying the fact that they were friends again.

"San? Come on, I gotta get home before Lord Tubbington…" Brittany's voice was heard coming to the room. "Aww, you're hugging!"

Santana and Rachel pulled away a second later with smiles on their faces as they looked at the blonde.

"Yeah Britt. We're just really happy to be friends again." Santana explained to her.

"I am too. I missed Rachie." Brittany said with a sad pout but then smiled as she went over and hugged Rachel again before grabbing Santana's hand.

"Come on, mom said he's reading my diary again!" Brittany said in slight distress, pulling the Latina behind her. "Bye Rachel, see you tomorrow!"

"Bye tiny!" Santana called.

"Bye guys!" Rachel waved with a giggle. They were gone a minute later and Rachel disappeared back into her bedroom, laying back on her bed with a happy sigh. She had her two best friends back without losing Quinn or Kurt or Puck. She was incredibly happy and felt like nothing could get better. She started picturing all of them together in glee club, singing, dancing, playing music and laughing. Then at basketball games, her, Santana, Brittany and Kurt cheering Puck and Quinn on as they played their way to the championships. She closed her eyes and let her imaginations run wild. It was only until she heard her cell phone ringing that she was snapped back into reality. She looked over to her nightstand and reached for her phone, answering without even bothering to see who it was.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hey Strawberry Short Cake." Quinn's voice came through happily. She giggled at the nickname.

"Hey Q." She said through her giggling. "What's up? You sound happy."

"I am." Quinn stated, Rachel could see her huge grin from here.

"What'd your dad get you? I heard him mention a surprise when he called." Rachel asked.

"You'll see tomorrow when I pick you up." Quinn said.

"Pick me up?" Rachel repeated questioningly. "Quinn, your dad drives you to school, wouldn't it be a little out of the way for him to come pick me up and then turn all the way around and drive the other way across town."

"Oh, dad's not taking me to school tomorrow." Quinn corrected.

"So what, you're going to walk all the way to my house and then back to school? Wouldn't it be easier if I stopped by your house and picked you up?" Rachel said with a chuckle at Quinn's silliness.

"Rachie! Please just let me pick you up!" Quinn whined pathetically, pouting at the phone.

"Oh my God." Rachel chuckled. "I can hear you pouting from here!"

"You can't hear a pout Rachel, that's just ridiculous." Quinn mocked.

"I don't sound like that silly." Rachel defended.

"Whatever, just, let me pick you up, it's all part of my plan and you're messing it up." Quinn admitted petulantly.

"Plan? Plan for what? Wasting an unnecessary amount of time?" Rachel teased again.

"Rachel!" Quinn whined, back at the Fabray household, the youngest child threw herself down on her bed.

"Okay okay." Rachel giggled at Quinn's childishness. "You can pick me up tomorrow, I'm actually quite flattered."

"Yes!" Quinn cheered, punching the air. Rachel laughed at her antics.

"You are such a kid." Rachel giggled.

"Am not." Quinn said petulantly, on purpose.

"Yeah. Sure." Rachel deadpanned. Quinn giggled.

"So what's up?" Quinn asked.

"Not much, the rest of the gang left just a while ago actually, I've been laying in my bed to my own thoughts since then." Rachel responded. "What about you?"

"Came home, dad gave the most amazing surprise ever, hugged him for like half an hour, then mom made me my favorite dinner." Quinn giggled.

"So what was the surprise for anyway?" Rachel asked. "Or am I not allowed to find that one out until tomorrow either?"

"It was a gift for making the team." Quinn answered, Rachel could hear the smile on her face, it made her smile too.

"That's really sweet. He seems really happy." Rachel said.

"He is, I'm glad." Quinn said quietly. Rachel nodded even though she was aware that she was on the phone.

"I am too." She admitted quietly, barely even noticing that she said it. Back at the Fabray household, Quinn's smile grew to a full on grin when she heard Rachel's admission. It made her heart soar to hear it from the brunette who had once ordered so much torment on her. She had never understood her insane crush on the head cheerio, she had broke it down to teenage hormones and the fact that Rachel was really hot, but she had always wanted to form a friendship with the girl. The day she and Rachel were partnered on the English assignment, well, she swore she had never felt so conflicted until that day. On one hand she loved the fact that she got to work with Rachel and finally talk to her, on the other hand she was dreading the nicknames and teasing while they worked. She had a bout of anger flare up inside her towards the brunette when she had demanded she do the assignment on her own and get both of them a good grade, thanking God that Sue Sylvester would not allow any of her cheerios, especially her head cheerio, to get less than an A on any assignment or test. She hadn't wanted to hold that over the brunette's pretty little head, but she also hadn't wanted to let Rachel walk all over her. And now that she thought about it, she was glad she made the decision she did, because after they were assigned to the Glee duet, Rachel asked for her help in math. And now here they are, talking to each other on the phone like they had been friends all along. She had hated Santana for slushying Rachel like she had, but a small part of her knew that if she hadn't they wouldn't be as close as they were now. So in a way a small part of her would be forever grateful to the Latina she now could consider a friend, and a confidante since she had realized the blonde had a crush on Rachel.

"Quinn…Are you still there?" Rachel said softly, the sweet voice snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah I'm here." Quinn said.

"You okay?" Rachel asked, slightly concerned.

"Uhh, fine, just thinking." Quinn admitted.

"What are you thinking about?" Rachel asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Just how everything spiraled out of control until we became friends." Quinn joked, chuckling lightly.

"Oh." Rachel giggled back. "Like one huge unexpected tornado of unlikely friendships huh?"

"You say unexpected, I say fate." Quinn answered matter of factly.

"Fate?" Rachel said in slight surprise. "You're saying us becoming friends was fate?"

"I am." Quinn nodded. "Face it Rachel, English assignment or not you were always going to be stuck with me."

"Is that so?" Rachel giggled. "No receipt to return fate's gift, is that it?"

"Nope. You gotta smile, say thanks and pretend you like it…Like that ugly sweater my aunt got me when I was nine." Quinn said with a giggle.

"Did you just call yourself an ugly sweater?" Rachel asked with a laugh.

"Maybe." Quinn deadpanned.

"Well I don't think you could consider yourself an ugly sweater…more like a really cool sweater that's really in fashion and that you genuinely like because it's all warm and comfy and it goes really well with your favorite bag." Rachel explained.

"Wow that is…yeah that's…I'm confused all I can think about it sweaters now." Quinn said. Rachel laughed loudly.

"Sorry Quinnie, didn't mean to fry your brain." Rachel said.

"It's cool." Quinn laughed back.

"But…did you get the gist of things?" Rachel asked, biting her lip nervously.

"Umm…I think so…you don't see yourself as stuck with me." Quinn chuckled. "That's a nice sentiment Rach."

"Yeah." Rachel smiled into the phone. "So how's-"

"Rachel!" her father's voice called up from the lower floor of the house. "Dinner's ready!"

"Crap." Rachel whispered. "I gotta go Quinn…See you tomorrow?"

"Don't forget. I'm picking you up!" Quinn reminded her.

"I won't forget. See you tomorrow, goodnight." Rachel said with a slight giggle.

"Good Strawberry Shortcake!" Quinn said cheerfully. Rachel rolled her eyes at the nickname, but it still put a smile on her face. She got up and disconnected the call, dropping her phone on her bed and quickly changing out of her cheerios uniform before going downstairs where both her fathers were seated at the table. She hadn't even realized Hiram had arrived home.

"Hey dad, how long have you been here?" Rachel asked with a smile.

"Not long." Hiram answered with a smile as Rachel came over and kissed his cheek before sitting down in her seat next to him. "Just long enough to have a before-dinner drink and help your daddy with dinner, I heard you brought friends over."

"Yeah." Rachel answered with a smile.

"How are Santana and Brittany?" Hiram asked, assuming that those were the friends she brought over.

"Oh, they're good, it wasn't just them though." Rachel responded as she picked a forkful of food and ate it.

"Oh?" Hiram asked expectantly.

"Yeah, I also brought over Puck, Kurt and Quinn." Rachel answered easily, not realizing that those names were new to her father, well, at least until she saw his hitched eyebrow. "New friends."

"Quinn is Russel's kid." Leroy answered as well with a smile.

"Russel?" Hiram asked his husband. "Russel Fabray? Your old college roommate?"

"The very one." Leroy answered with a smile on his face as he bit off a piece of his steak, gravy dripping down his chin. Rachel rolled her eyes and grabbed a napkin, wiping his chin off.

"Honestly daddy, you're such a child sometimes." She giggled as he took the napkin from her.

"Hey get used to it kiddo, when I'm old and frail and your dad's had enough of me, you gotta take care of me." He teased.

"I have three words for you." She said through the last of her giggling. "Old. People's. Home!"

"Aww." He gave a very big, very fake pout.

"I'll be far too busy on Broadway." She said flamboyantly. "I will send you guys tickets though, by that age you'll probably forget the time we went to see Wicked, who knows, maybe I'll be playing Elphaba this time instead of crowding around to get Idina Menzel's autograph."

"Which was very worth the trampling if I may add." Hiram said with a smile.

"I remember Rachel you were so shocked to see her not green." Leroy reminded the small brunette with a chuckle, then speaking in a very high pitched voice "Oh miss Elphy, what happened to your face?"

"I did not sound like that. And besides I was nine." Rachel defended. "Though, now that I think about it, I think I saw some green on her hairline."

"Well in her defense, you'd have green hair too if you had to paint your whole face green every night." Leroy said.

"Maybe I'll just dye it green to save myself the trouble of washing it out." Rachel said non chalantly.

"WHAT?!" both her fathers demanded simultaneously. Rachel threw her head back in laughter.

"Oh my God guys chill, I was kidding." She said through her giggles.

"You get one spot of dye on that gorgeous mane on your head and so help me God-" Hiram threatened.

"H, cool it, I got this!" Leroy said with a hand raised to stop his husband from going off on a tangent. The dark skinned man turned to his daughter with a serious expression. "Rachel. Barbra. Berry…At least make it something a bit more classy than green."

"WHAT?!" Hiram demanded. Rachel simply threw her head back in laughter.

"Daddy, stop before dad has an aneurysm." She giggled through. Leroy chuckled at his husband's antics while Hiram simply rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head lightly.

"This family will be the death of me." He muttered as he usually does when they play a joke like that on him.

After dinner Rachel was laying on her bed, notepad in hand and doing homework when her phone rang. This time she looked at the caller ID, a little surprised that it was Kurt. She hit accept.

"Hey Kurt, this is a lovely surprise." She said with a smile.

"Hew sweetie, listen, did you talk to Quinn since she left your house?" he asked.

"Yeah she called me, why?" she asked, biting her lip, a nervous tick, a sign to anyone that knew her well enough that she was on the verge of worrying.

"She's just acting weird. She's all happy about this surprise her dad got her. I just got off the phone with her now and she insisted on picking me up in the morning. She does see the impracticality of all this right? I live on the other side of the school." He explained.

"She did that to you too? She wouldn't stop whining like a five year old until I caved, and while I may admit it was insanely cute-" she cut herself off.

"What was that?" Kurt asked.

"Umm…nothing…" she waved off, hoping he would just let it go.

"O…kay…" Kurt said a little confused. "Anyway, there's no getting out of it now, once Quinn has her mind set on something, she does it, it's just the Fabray way."

"Apparently." Rachel said, rolling her eyes with a slight chuckle.

"Anyway, I won't bother you any further."

"Oh don't be silly, you know I love talking to you." Rachel scoffed lightly.

"True, but I do have homework that needs attending to." He admitted.

"Yeah me too, oh well, so I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning then?" She said.

"Yes since we're letting that little nut job of a friend of ours kidnap us in the morning. This oughta be good!" he said with a giggle.

"We'll just have to wait and see." Rachel said with a sigh, her curiosity was killing her and the next day couldn't come fast enough. "Anyway, see you in the morning Kurt."

"Bye sweetie, have a good night." The boy said cheerfully.

"You too, goodnight!" she said before disconnecting the call.

She finished her homework before taking a shower and going to bed, wondering just what the hell Quinn was planning for the next morning.

She woke up and headed downstairs, messenger bag at her side as she went to the kitchen.

"Morning dad, morning daddy." She said as she walked in, taking a seat at the breakfast bar. A bowl of chopped fruit was placed in front of her while a kiss was planted on her head from Leroy.

"Morning baby girl, need a ride to school?" he asked, as he always does.

"No thanks daddy, actually Quinn is picking me up, which is strange because she doesn't have a car." She shrugged tiredly, piercing a strawberry with her fork and biting down on it.

"Hmm…well if you kids need a driver I'll be more than happy to help." He offered again.

"Thanks daddy." She said with a smile. Hiram took a seat next to his daughter with his coffee.

"So anything exciting going on at school?" he asked.

"Not much, we have cheerios try outs this week." She told them. "I have to be there for those since I'm Sue's right hand and all."

"Weren't try outs at the beginning of the year?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes but our coach is a demon from hell." Rachel stated bluntly around a mouthful of banana and kiwi slices, too tired to care.

"Meaning…?" Hiram lead in.

"Meaning she got angry at three cheerios and kicked them off the squad, now we have to hold try outs to fill in their spots." Rachel explained as Leroy placed a glass of apple juice next to her bowl. "Thanks."

"Didn't she kick two other girls off the team last month?" Hiram asked again.

"Yes, ironically two of these three were the two that replaced those two. Pretty soon she's going to run out of students." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"It's hard leading a champion team to their…how many consecutive win?" Hiram asked towards Leroy who shrugged.

"I lost count." Rachel shrugged. "But I'll be sure to tell you guys when she screams it at us for the fifth time at practice."

Hiram and Leroy chuckled lightly as their daughter finished her breakfast, feeling much more awake and refreshed now. There was a loud horn honking outside.

"What the-" Leroy cut himself off while peering out the kitchen window into the driveway. "Uhhh. Honey, is that Quinn and your other friends in a Porsche in our driveway?"

"I was not aware we had a Porsche in our driveway." Hiram said distractedly as he read the paper and sipped his coffee. Rachel just furrowed her brow in confusion and looked out the window Leroy was looking out of and gasped.

"Oh my-" she ran towards the door and pulled it open, running outside to see Quinn, Puck and Kurt sitting outside in a black convertible Porsche with metallic dark blue spinners. Quinn hopped out of the car, climbing over the door rather than opening it. She walked up to Rachel with a huge grin on her face.

"So what do you think?" she said. Rachel opened and closed her mouth several times before sputtering out an answer.

"Wha…I mean…who….HOW?!" she exclaimed. Quinn shrugged.

"My dad." She answered easily.

"Your dad bought you THIS?!" Rachel asked again. Quinn nodded.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"His gift for making the team, you ready to go?" she asked. Leroy stepped outside with his jaw hanging wide open.

"Morning Leroy." Quinn said with a smile.

"Quinn…what is that?" he asked, still in shock.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's a car." Quinn answered with a sure nod. Rachel giggled lightly.

"I can see that. And a very nice one at that." He said, eying the vehicle like it were a piece of art.

"Were the spinners really necessary?" Rachel asked, tilting her head. Quinn shrugged again.

"My dad thought they were a nice touch. I like the color so I'm keeping them." She said. Her smile still in place. Hiram walked out with his briefcase and Rachel's messenger bag in hand.

"Sweetie you forgot this inside." He said, handing Rachel the bag.

"Oh, I can take that." Quinn said, taking the bag from Hiram who smiled at her.

"You must be Quinn, oh, nice car, is it yours?" Hiram asked politely.

"Oh yeah, thanks. It was a gift from my dad. Oh and it's nice to meet you." She said with a smile.

"Likewise, I'd love to stay and chat but I've got to get to work, and uhh, you kids better be heading to school soon, don't wanna be late." He said, looking at his watch.

"Oh, well, have a good day Mr. Berry." Quinn said as she walked over towards the car to put Rachel's bag in the trunk with the rest.

"Oh please Quinn, call me Hiram." He said to her with a smile.

"Will do, bye Hiram!" she said with a wave.

"Bye dear." He said, kissing Rachel's head before walking towards his own car, getting in and driving off.

"Puck, get in the back seat." Quinn said softly. "Rachel's riding shot gun."

"What?! Come on dude! Bros before-" he began.

"Finish that sentence and you walk the rest of the way." Quinn threatened.

"But I wanna feel the wind in my hair!" he whined.

"Puckerman you have a mo hawk the only thing you can feel go through it is the lice in your head." Kurt said.

"Exactly now get in the back before you feel a razor go through it instead." Quinn said. Puck grumbled and jumped in the back as Rachel finished saying bye to Leroy and went up to the car. Quinn immediately opened the door for her with a smile.

"Oh Quinn I had no idea you were such a gentleman!" she teased with a giggle, joined by Kurt.

"I like being nice." She said with a shrug. She closed the passenger side door and got in on the driver's side, turning the key in the ignition to bring the car to life.

"Buckle up ladies and gents!" Quinn said with a smile as she pulled on her own seatbelt, as did the rest of her friends. She reversed out of the driveway and onto the road and drove at normal speed. Rachel didn't miss the way Puck was looking back at her house from the back.

"Three." He said to Quinn who's smirk grew.

"Two…" he drew out again.

"What's he counti-"

"One! GO!" Puck shouted. Quinn hit the accelerate and they shot off down the road at hell breaking speed.

"Quinn! Slow down!" Rachel squealed as she held on tightly to the dashboard for dear life.

"Faster Q!" Puck called.

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Kurt huffed.

They arrived at the McKinley parking lot half an hour later and Rachel jumped out of the car, her hair dis shelved thanks to the wind. Quinn jumped out just as she had back at the Berry residence and went over to the trunk to get their bags.

"Quinn Fabray. That was crazy. That was reckless. We could have been seriously injured! We could have been killed." Rachel ranted. Quinn nodded at her with her hands in her pockets.

"Yeah…" Quinn said solemnly, as if she felt guilty, then beamed back up at her. "But we weren't!" she got her and Rachel's bags out, handing it over to the diva while she lifted the strap of her own over her head. She handed Puck and Kurt's their's and closed the trunk just in time to hear someone wolf whistle as they approached.

"Yo who's car is that?" Santana's voice was heard from behind them. Quinn turned and smiled to her.

"Mine." She said with a proud grin. Brittan was just smiling at her in awe.

"Wow, looks like daddy dearest really did get you your dream car huh?" she said, honestly impressed.

"Yeah. It was a gift for making the team." Quinn said with a smile.

"If that's his gift for making the team I can't wait to see what he gets you when you make captain!" Puck said with a grin.

"Not gonna happen Puck." Quinn rolled her eyes. "Anyway I was thinking I might as well pick you guys up from now on."

"That sounds good." Kurt nodded.

"Sweet!" Puck said, high fiving the blonde.

"Only if you promise not to drive like a maniac on speed!" Rachel said, stopping and turning in front of Quinn with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm sorry Rach. I promise to keep it slow from now on okay?" Quinn said. Rachel narrowed her eyes in question to see if the blonde meant it. Quinn held up three fingers. "Scouts honor."

"You were a scout, Q?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah." Quinn said with a nod.

"Okay fine." Rachel agreed and Quinn smiled, wrapping her arm around the brunette's shoulders and letting it hang limply there as they walked into the school building. Suddenly they heard the sound of an all too familiar voice being magnified by a megaphone.

"Ray!" the voice called demandingly. They all turned around to face the direction of the voice and saw Sue Sylvester saunter over towards them. Megaphone in hand and whistle around her neck in her black and navy blue track suit.

"Morning coach!" Rachel said, stepping away from Quinn for a moment to take her stance in front of her coach. Hands on her hips, head held high as she stood at her full height, granted for Rachel that wasn't much, but you can't fault a girl for trying.

"Ray, I sincerely hope you are ready for the toughest try outs you have ever had to sit in on in all the time of your short career as head cheerio." She said, calmly but sternly in that Sue Sylvester way of hers. "This time, I will be taking no slackers, I will allow not one single mistake to go unnoticed. I am aiming for perfection and that is exactly what I will get or so help me God I will burn down this school."

At that last part, everyone except for the cheerios of the group, raised their eyebrows at the tall older woman.

"Isn't that just a little…excessive?" Kurt spoke up. Sue's head shot up towards him and stepped up to him, sizing him up. Kurt, always up to a challenge, crossed his arms subtly across his chest and stood to his full, ever developing, length, constantly making eye contact with the woman. Some would call it insane, but he knew that if he were to truly join and stay on the cheerios he had to stand up to this woman.

"It appears that I do not know your name, so I shall proceed to call you porcelain from now on because your pale skin and small frame give me the impression that you'd break the minute someone touches you." She said in her dangerously calm voice before rage filled her eyes. "Did you dare just question me, Porcelain!?"

"I was merely stating that it would be unnecessary and counter productive for you to burn down the school." He said calmly. "Think about it, if you burned down the school you'd lose your job, your national championship award winning cheerio squad plus, you'd be forever considered insane and unfit to teach and you'd never win another championship ever again."

Sue stopped for a moment and looked above and beyond the boy who watched as she shifted her eyes left to right in thought before shooting her gaze back down towards him.

"It appears that I underestimated you porcelain. Your kind of quick thinking and courage is the kind of spirit I look for in my cheerios. That and the fact that you're obviously gayer than Liberace and Boy George put together make me certain that you would be an excellent addition to our squad." She considered out loud in her yet again calm voice. Kurt's eyes widened slightly at that. And she nodded. "Be at cheerios try outs, Monday, three thirty sharp. That's an order."

Kurt raised his eyebrow with a smirk and then uncrossed his arms, stood as straight as humanely possible, shoulders back and chest out, and saluted the cheerios coach. Rachel, Santana and Brittany's eyes widened comically while Quinn and Puck held in their laughter. Sue however, her face hidden from the other teens, smirked at the boy as she reached into her pocket.

"I like you spunk, kid!" she said, slapping her hand on his shoulder before walking away towards her office. Kurt looked over at his shoulder where she slapped him and saw a sticker on his shoulder that matched the red, black and white WMHS logo on the cheerios uniforms.

"Umm, what does this mean?" he said to Rachel, pointing at the sticker.

"The sticker, she's just been using those around cause she got them free with the rest of the cheerios merchandise, repeat customer from the memorabilia company, they were a free gift." She shrugged, then walked up to him. "But the rest of it, you, my friend, have just impressed Sue Sylvester."

Kurt smiled brightly at that. "Well that's good isn't it?" he was taken aback when Rachel slowly shook her head and gave him a grave look like his death sentence had just been signed off.

"If you impressed Sue Sylvester before the try outs, that means that you have to impress her even further now at try outs!" she explained to him and saw as his smile dropped and his eyes widened.

"Oh God what have I done." He breathed out.

* * *

**So what do you think? reviews are always appreciated :) Oh and I promise the next chapter won't take so long. **


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